Delta Center awards $1.6M to support value-based care

KPWHRI’s MacColl Center remains a key partner as the safety net-focused initiative expands to 8 new states

Last fall, the Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net (Delta Center) received 3 additional years of support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to continue the initiative. The initiative seeks to advance payment, policy, and practice change that ultimately cultivates health policy and a care system that are more equitable and better meets the needs of individuals and families.

The Delta Center is excited to announce that it has awarded 6 grants totaling over $1.6 million to primary care and behavioral health state associations nationwide, as part of its second cohort of the State Learning & Action Collaborative. The second cohort expands the initiative’s reach to 8 additional states, increasing the Delta Center’s impact. In addition, the Delta Center also awarded 8 alumni grants to states that participated in the 2018-2020 cohort.

The project brings together state primary care associations and behavioral health state associations to build relationships and take collective action to advance policy, payment, and practice changes that will benefit millions of people served by health centers and community behavioral health organizations. The MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute is a key partner in the Delta Center, which is managed by JSI Research & Training Institute Inc. with the National Association of Community Health Centers, the National Council for Behavioral Health, and Families USA as strategic partners.

Rachel Tobey, co-director of the Delta Center, noted, “The past year’s events have confirmed the need to see state policy and local care changes as levers for advancing racial equity and shaping incentives and health system design to meet the needs of consumers and families. We are excited to work with primary care and behavioral health state associations as they build relationships with one another and work to change policy and practice while centering consumer voice in the process and advancing racial equity as a guiding goal.”

The Delta Center is proud to work with the selected organizations in the new cohort:

• Alaska Primary Care Association
• Alaska Behavioral Health Association
• Association of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas Inc.
• Bi-State Primary Care Association (New Hampshire and Vermont)
• Community Care Network of Kansas
• Community Health Center Association of Mississippi
• Louisiana Public Health Institute
• Louisiana Primary Care Association
• Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers
• New Hampshire Community Behavioral Health Association
• Oklahoma Primary Care Association
• Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association
• Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers
• Rehabilitation & Community Providers Association (Pennsylvania)

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, several states are centering telehealth in their projects, with a focus on developing equitable policies and practices. Other states bring a focus to behavioral health and primary care integration through implementation of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model, engagement of state agencies and legislatures, and coordination of health care huddles between community health centers and community mental health centers. In alignment with Delta Center goals, grantees are elevating consumer voice in the design and implementation of their projects.

“RWJF is committed to pursuing a future in which health care is better positioned to coordinate with social services, public health, and to address community needs through integrated services. Through our work with the Delta Center, we have seen how passionately grantees are working toward that goal in service of improving patient outcomes and achieving racial equity,” said Andrea Ducas, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “We are excited to learn from the new cohort's efforts over the next 2 years!”

Read more about the initiative and partners.

This story was adapted from copy provided by John Snow Inc.