Enhancing the HealthVine Member Experience
A Simple Goal: To Improve Health Outcomes
HealthVine care managers and care coordinators help youth and families navigate the complex healthcare system, and partner with community providers and agencies to connect members to community-based resources. To ensure the health and well-being of our member population, our teams continue to find ways to develop relationships with members and enhance their experience with HealthVine.
Thinking Outside the Box
While working with youth and families, members of our Care Management and Care Coordination teams often discover a member has a need that may fall outside of services typically covered by insurance but is critical to their overall health and well-being. To help address these needs, our HealthVine Care Management and HealthVine OhioRISE programs have access to additional resources that enable our team to “think outside the box” to support the holistic needs of the member.
HealthVine has invested in a variety of innovative resources to maximize the Care Management team’s impact. Through these efforts, HealthVine members and their families have the tools they need to seek out and receive care.
HealthVine Social Investment Fund
The HealthVine Social Investment Fund has experienced tremendous success since the launch of the HealthVine Care Management program in January 2021. In CY23 alone, $98,422 has been used to provide crucial support to CareSource-covered members in the HealthVine region. Examples of items purchased using the social investment fund include:
- Furniture
- Air Conditioners
- Fridges
- Rent Assistance
- Utility Assistance
- Space Heaters
- Blankets
OhioRISE Flex Funds
The OhioRISE program’s unique wraparound care model allocates $1,500 in rolling flex funds annually to youth enrolled in OhioRISE care coordination. The HealthVine OhioRISE team has creatively designed care plans that leverage these funds to keep youth engaged and occupied, as well as enhance their social and cognitive skills. Since July 2022, OhioRISE has utilized $37,000 worth of funds to address the behavioral health needs of members. Examples of items purchased using flex funds include:
- Art Therapy
- Weighed Blankets
- Roller Blades
- Dance Lessons
- Tutoring Lessons
- Car Repairs
Addressing the holistic needs of members is critical to ensure their health and well-being is maintained in both the short- and long-term.
Going the Extra Mile
In implementing comprehensive, wraparound solutions to effectively manage a member’s behavioral health needs, the HealthVine OhioRISE team recognizes the delicate nature of behavioral health challenges and acknowledges that, often, there are no straightforward answers or solutions for providing effective support to members. OhioRISE care coordinators distinguish themselves by embracing innovative solutions to address the unique needs of each member.
One of the more notable examples of HealthVine OhioRISE’s innovation involves the creation of an “Engagement Corner.” The idea for this initiative came from a care coordinator who recognized an opportunity to use engagement tools to help build relationships with members during in-person visits. These relationships are critical for care coordinators to effectively gauge and support the needs of each member. The Engagement Corner has a wide range of items for checkout, including board games, coloring books, sensory items, Play-Doh, puzzles and more.
In the first 6 months of launching the Engagement Corner, over 220 items have been checked out and used by care coordinators during in-person visits, contributing to members’ high engagement with OhioRISE care coordinators. This initiative reflects a dedication to creative thinking that will help us foster meaningful connections with members.
Elevating the Voices of our Members
HealthVine highly values our members’ perspectives, and we consider them to be partners to help us shape our day-to-day programs and inform strategic priorities for the organization. As a mechanism to elevate the voices of members, the HealthVine Patient Family Advisory Council (PFAC) was launched in 2023.
What sets the HealthVine PFAC apart is its exclusive inclusion of families and participants who have been on or are currently covered by an Ohio Medicaid plan. This recruitment criteria allows HealthVine to gain deeper knowledge of the challenges and barriers within the healthcare system impacting members on Medicaid. Currently, 15 families are participating on the council.
Members of the PFAC have offered enlightening perspectives, revealing several barriers faced by Medicaid-covered families when navigating their healthcare journeys. The council has provided feedback on various projects, such as the development of a Well Child Care Roadmap resource, and participants have suggested opportunities for future improvements, such as making eyeglass purchases an easier experience for members on Medicaid coverage.
The creation of the HealthVine Patient Family Advisory Council has been an exciting development for our organization, and the council looks forward to recruiting additional participants in 2024.
“I am passionate about the influence HealthVine’s PFAC will have on future collaboration between parents, insurance companies, and community providers, exceeding our mission and helping our children lead healthier lives.”
Domonique Davis, HealthVine PFAC Parent Co-Lead
“It has been very exciting to be a part of this journey. The launch of the PFAC has been very helpful to our families, giving everyone an opportunity for their voices to be heard.”
Crystal Robinson, HealthVine PFAC Parent Co-Lead