Olympic Community of Health brought together partners from across the Olympic region to learn about creative approaches to community-based care coordination.
What is community-based care coordination?
Community-based care coordination truly embodies OCH’s purpose “tackling health issues that no single sector or Tribe can tackle alone.” This approach to care coordination brings together various organizations, Tribes, and sectors to collaboratively care for the unique needs of a specific community. Care coordination communicates the patient’s needs and preferences to ensure individual needs are met timely, easily, and compassionate.
35 participants from across the Olympic region came together for this event. Bringing the on-the-ground workforce including coordinators, community health workers, navigators, promotoras, home visitors, educators, and more, empowered a larger community of care across Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap counties. The objectives of this event were to promote regional communication and shared learning, foster workforce resiliency, and facilitate a collaborative network across the Olympic region.
Organizations present:
8 different community-based organizations
3 behavioral health providers
2 public health departments
2 Federally Qualified Health Centers
1 faith-based organization
When clinical and community sectors work synergistically, they can improve care and support patients and clients better than either of these sectors could do alone. Each partner brings unique strengths, skillsets, and expertise. Leveraging the strengths of each partner allows us to maximize our collective impact.
The event featured local spotlights to highlight innovative approaches
Tanya Barnett, Olympic Peninsula YMCA
Kandice Atisme-Bevins, Kitsap Public Health District
Stephanie Akin, Reflections Counseling Services Group REAL Team
Kelsi Millet, First Step Family Support Center
Care coordination across the spectrum of care (community-clinical linkages) Kelsi Millet from First Step Family Support Center spoke to the importance of community-clinical partnerships and shared a real-life story about coordinating care across the spectrum. Her story moved some participants to tears and sparked powerful conversation about the "why" of this work. Participants shared that being able to hear different people’s experiences, learn about partner projects, and connecting with folks were incredibly valuable elements of this event.
Tanya Barnett at Olympic Peninsula YMCA shared that care coordination “…is like being in a neighborhood and you actually know your neighbors.” Together, all 35 participants reflected and brainstormed on opportunities to strengthen care coordination efforts across the region.
What would benefit from a collective approach?
Participants also shared innovations they were aware of that could support each other’s work:
OCH would like to extend a big “thank you!” to:
Peninsulas Early Childhood Coalition and First Step Family Support Center for helping supply prizes.
First Step Family Support Center, Kitsap Public Health District, and Peninsulas Early Childhood Coalition for helping plan this event.
Partner panelists First Step Family Support Center, Kitsap Public Health District, Reflections Counseling, and YMCA of Jefferson County.
OCH is excited to continue convening partners around care coordination in 2023. Make sure you join OCH’s mailing list to be sure you’re informed of the next event, or reach out to och@olympicch.org. We are truly stronger together.
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