Dallas Morning News: PCCI reports Upwards of 95% of Dallas County residents need protection against COVID-19 to reach herd immunity

According to a report in the Dallas Morning news, PCCI data indicates that upwards of 95% of Dallas County residents need protection against COVID-19 to reach herd immunity. Herd immunity refers to the condition in which a population is indirectly protected from infection because enough people are vaccinated or have natural immunity to a disease.

Click this link to read the full story:

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2021/09/17/upwards-of-90-of-dallas-county-residents-need-protection-against-covid-19-to-reach-herd-immunity/?outputType=amp

 

 

 

PCCI Supporting Episcopal Health Foundation’s $8 million Texas Accountable Communities for Health Initiative

Episcopal Health Foundation selects six communities to participate in $8 million Texas Accountable Communities for Health Initiative

TACHI project aims to build sustainable community-based partnerships to address underlying, non-medical causes of poor health

Partners include organizations focused on housing, social services, employment training, health care, and more

HOUSTON – (July 20, 2021) – The Texas Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (TACHI), launched by Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF), has announced that six local communities from across the state have received funding as part of an $8 million project to go beyond the doctor’s office to improve the health and well-being of Texans.
Each community was awarded funding to establish an Accountable Community for Health (ACH) – a community-based partnership formed by local organizations from different sectors to address underlying, non-medical community health needs like safe housing, food security, safe places to exercise, and more. TACHI will grant funds to each ACH site, depending on specific needs, over a four-year period.

The TACHI sites selected are:

• Austin Rundberg
• Bastrop County
• Brazos Valley
• Greater Northside in Houston
• Gregg County
• Williamson County

• Learn more: www.txachi.org

“This is an important step forward to position these community-based organizations to advance community-led, financially-sustainable strategies to improve health, not just health care in their own neighborhoods,” says Shao-Chee Sim, EHF’s Vice President for Research, Innovation and Evaluation. “The goal is to improve health outcomes for under-served Texas communities by focusing on healthy living in communities, not sick care. That’s why the unique ACH partnerships are addressing community conditions outside of hospitals and doctors’ offices.”

ACHs include organizations focused on health care, housing, social services, public health, employment training, economic development, and more. Along with grant funding, TACHI offers the six community collaboratives technical assistance and peer-learning opportunities focused on topics related to health equity, community engagement, governance, data infrastructure, and financial sustainability.

“Essentially, ACHs serve as a local platform for bringing community organizations and residents together to address a shared community health goal, achieve greater health equity, and find ways to pay for the improvements over the long term,” Sim said.

EHF provides funding and leadership for the project. Two key partners are also working to ensure TACHI sites are making positive health impacts in their communities:

• Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) serves as the Project Management Office. PCCI, an independent affiliate of Parkland Health & Hospital System is a nonprofit, data science, and innovation organization known for their ground-breaking work in building connected communities of care.

• Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC) serves as the external evaluator. GHPC, housed within Georgia State University’s nationally ranked Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, will conduct both formative and summative evaluation of TACHI to help PCCI and EHF understand how the initiative is making progress towards the stated goals.

To learn more, visit https://www.txachi.org/.

More information on TACHI Sites
Austin Rundberg » The Austin Rundberg site is a small, urban community located in the City of Austin bounded by I-35 and Mopac. Lone Star Circle of Care will serve as the backbone for this collaborative.
Bastrop County » Located east of Austin, Bastrop County Cares will serve as the backbone for this collaborative.
Brazos Valley » Located in Bryan/College Station, Texas A&M University will serve as the backbone for this collaborative.
Greater Northside – Houston » Based in Houston, Avenue CDC will serve as the backbone for this collaborative.
Gregg County » Located in Longview in East Texas, Community Healthcore will serve as the backbone for this collaborative.

Williamson County » North of Austin, the Williamson County Health Department will serve as the backbone for this collaborative.

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To schedule an interview, contact Brian Sasser at bsasser@episcopalhealth.org or 832-795-9404.
Related materials:

Texas Accountable Communities for Health Initiative: https://www.txachi.org/

Episcopal Health Foundation: www.episcopalhealth.org

By providing millions of dollars in grants, working with congregations and community partners, and providing important research, Episcopal Health Foundation is supporting solutions that address the underlying causes of poor health. EHF was established in 2013 and is based in Houston. With more than $1.2 billion in estimated assets, the Foundation operates as a supporting organization of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and works across 57 Texas counties. #HealthNotJustHealthcare

Dallas Morning News Op/Ed: PCCI CEO – Dallas Needs You In Race against COVID-19

In the Saturday, May 8 edition of the Dallas Morning News, PCCI’s CEO Steve Miff’s Op/Ed piece was published encouraging residents of Dallas County to receive their COVID vaccines in order for the county to reach herd immunity by June. To read the entire editorial, click on the image below:

https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/05/08/dallas-reaches-herd-immunity-at-80-immunity-we-are-at-35/?outputType=amp

 

PCCI Names Healthcare Technology Expert, Russell “Rusty” Lewis, as Chief Digital Technology Officer

Dallas, Texas – Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), which improves healthcare for vulnerable populations using advanced data science and clinical experts, has named Russell “Rusty” Lewis as Chief Digital Technology Officer, where he will accelerate the advancement of PCCI’s digital technology platform and data applications.

“We are so pleased to welcome Rusty to our team of clinical and data science experts who are leading the industry in solving some of the most challenging issues facing vulnerable populations,” said Steve Miff, PCCI’s CEO and President. “Rusty is joining an existing dynamic team of top industry experts and his experience and vision will make PCCI’s groundbreaking AI/ML platform even more robust and impactful. Our partners and collaborators will find his humble, yet fun and outgoing personality a pleasure to work with.”

As a member of PCCI’s advisory team since 2017, Lewis is uniquely familiar with PCCI’s programs and leading-edge technology, enabling him to make a rapid impact. He will assume duties immediately, reporting to PCCI’s CEO in Dallas.

Lewis’ professional career spans a wide range of health care firms and technology roles, and most recently served as President of AppianRX, a manufacturer of healthcare-oriented artificial intelligence products. Previous to that, he was Group SVP of Data, Analytics, and Product Delivery for Vizient and Provista. Lewis also served as SVP and Chief Technology Officer for McKesson and later served as President of the Automation and Technology division of AmerisourceBergen.

Lewis has also served as a senior executive in a number of venture-backed health information technology (HIT) start-ups including Ameritech Health Connections, Bridge Medical Systems, and Skylight Healthcare Systems. Lewis began his career at Texas Instruments and holds more than 15 international and U.S. patents spanning handwriting recognition, virtual reality, clinical software and medication management systems. He is author of two books – “Impact of Information Technology on Patient Safety” and “Barcode and Auto-ID Implementation Guide” – both of which are published by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

Lewis holds degrees in computer science and applied mathematics from Southern Methodist University. He is a past board member of the National Alliance for Healthcare Information Technology (NAHIT) and Microsoft’s Healthcare User’s Group (MSHUG).

About Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) is an independent, not-for-profit, healthcare intelligence organization affiliated with Parkland Health & Hospital System. PCCI leverages clinical expertise, data science and social determinants of health to address the needs of vulnerable populations.

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New England Journal of Medicine – Catalyst featured PCCI in article about using data to manage COVID-19

New England Journal of Medicine – Catalyst: The Imperative for Integrating Public Health and Health Care Delivery Systems

NEJM-Catalyst published a column by leaders at Parkland Hospital and Dallas County’s health department about how they used PCCI’s capabilities leveraging data to educate and care for the county’s high-risk population. Click on the link below to read the whole article:

https://catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.20.0580

 

For the PDF, click here: NEJM Catalyst_Cerise_Proximity Index

In The News: DCEO Healthcare covers the MyPCI App; a tool that gives you your COVID risk

 

Are You Likely to Get COVID-19 in Dallas? There’s an App for That.

Dallas County residents can now get an instant reading of their vulnerability to COVID-19 using an app developed by the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation. The new technology provides a live, location-specific risk assessment with a score to reflect how vulnerable a person is to the virus.
https://www.dmagazine.com/healthcare-business/2021/02/are-you-likely-to-get-covid-19-in-dallas-theres-an-app-for-that/

In the News: Dallas Innovates – Steve Miff an “Innovator and Disruptor” You Need to Know in 2021

A leading technology media outlet, Dallas Innovates, has included Steve Miff in its news story, “Meet the Future 50: Dallas-Fort Worth Innovators and Disruptors You Need to Know in 2021.” The story includes Steve as a “Care Community Builder” and notes the outstanding work by PCCI during the COVID-19 outbreak as well as the publishing of its book, “Building Connected Communities of Care.” Here is an excerpt and link to the story.

“When COVID-19 began impacting North Texas in March, the data science and clinical experts at PCCI were already hard at work on ways to improve health in the underserved areas of Dallas. The team quickly built, tested, and deployed several patent-pending analytical models using machine learning and geomapping to visualize the progression of cases across the area.”

For the full story, click on the image below:

http://s24806.pcdn.co/future50dallasfortworth2021/