New Brooklyn Health Partnership Puts Care Managers On-site at Brooklyn Practices
(Brooklyn, NY) — Today Brooklyn Health Home (BHH), an organization that provides comprehensive care management in Brooklyn, announces its co-location initiative, which embeds care managers in-person at community practices to help patients navigate their health and social care needs.
BHH is partnering with Maimonides Health, Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, and Community Care of Brooklyn Independent Practice Association (CCB IPA), a network of hospitals, FQHCs, and primary and behavioral health providers, to identify practices and match them with care managers. The initiative’s initial rollout placed care managers at seven sites across Brooklyn, including four Maimonides provider offices and three CCB IPA-participant community practices.
An on-site care manager can help patients navigate a range of healthcare, nonprofit, and community-based supports, including:
- Housing, food assistance, and other social services
- Connections to mental health and substance use services
- Assistance navigating benefits like SNAP and Medicaid
- Help connecting to pharmacy services and managing medication adherence
- More meaningfully engagement in their healthcare and wellness journey
The co-location initiative is BHH’s latest step towards expanding comprehensive care coordination for Brooklyn residents across a range of health and social needs. BHH coordinates a network of 18 care management agencies (CMAs), overseeing strategic and administrative needs while CMAs provide direct, on-the-ground support to community members. Currently, care managers from four CMAs – CAMBA, Maimonides Care Management, NADAP, and Services for the Underserved – are embedded at community practices.
“By offering care managers on-site at community practices, we’re meeting people where they are to offer resources and support,” said Magdalena Gordon, Executive Director of Brooklyn Health Home. “This initiative is only possible because of the incredible partnerships we have with our care management agencies, community-based providers, Maimonides Health, and CCB IPA. We’re excited to expand these collaborations to bring coordinated, person-centered care to even more Brooklyn residents.”
Care managers work closely with patients and healthcare providers to address complex needs, improve care coordination, and keep people engaged in their health journey. By meeting patients where they feel most comfortable – whether that is a medical office or a familiar community setting – care managers build trust and respect patients’ preferences, empowering them to better manage their needs and putting them on a path to better health.
“Bringing a health home Care Manager into our practice has lightened our workload and improved our patients’ access to critical services like housing, food access, and mental health support,” said Neikisha Charles, MPH, Director Quality Improvement and Risk Management at Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center. “It’s deepening patient trust and helping us deliver more holistic care that meets patients wherever they are.”
“BHH’s co-location program allows our care managers to be part of qualifying patients’ care teams from day one, said Crystal Miller, Senior Program Director at CAMBA, a non-profit community-focused organization that provides services that connect people with opportunities to enhance their quality of life. “Being physically present means we can act quickly and meet patients where they are – starting at their doctor’s office.”
BHH is working to co-locate care managers at additional community practices later this year. Visit www.thebrooklynhealthhome.org to learn more.