COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

“Serving as the safety net to the safety net.”

The Health Systems Access to Care Fund (HSACF) is a collaborative effort of Kaiser Permanente NW, Legacy Health, PeaceHealth, CareOregon and Providence Health & Services and was created for community-supported clinics in the combined service areas of Oregon and SW Washington. 

The goal of the fund is to strengthen the capacity and infrastructure of local organizations that do not receive federal clinic funding, but that still play a vital role in the community as “the safety net to the safety net;” providing access to care regardless of ongoing healthcare reform or Medicaid transformation.

In 2022, HSACF, in collaboration with its cohort of grantees, explored more focused collaboration options as the healthcare landscape continues to evolve. This effort led to the establishment of the HSACF Community of Practice.

Grantees

    • 80% identify as primary care clinics

    • 10% identify as an on-demand/immediate care clinic

    • 10% provide street outreach services.

    • Dental

    • Eye Care

    • Food/Nutrition

    • Immunizations

    • Labs

    • Medicaid application assistance

    • Medical

    • Mental Health

    • Pharmacy/Dispensary

    • Referrals

    • Social Determinants of Health Screening

    • Other

  • The Community of Practice collectively serves patients across 2 states, with 11 *primary counties, and 134 unique zip codes.

    Collectively, the clinics offer services every day of the week, with 80% of clinics offering evening hours, and 30% offering weekend hours.

    *The identified primary counties were based on clinical reporting on top 3 counties served for their patient population; this does not reflect 100% of all counties served by the clinics.

  • 80% of grantees have started collecting Medicaid eligibility or enrollment information as of 2024.

    A goal of the grantee cohort is to expand this capability to break down barriers to Medicaid access by growing their programs. Reported barriers include:

    • Eligibility portal

    • Staffing

    • Navigators

    • EHR limitations

    • Patient willingness to provide information

    • The community of practice collectively provided over 26,094 patient visits.

    • The clinics collectively reported over 61,477 volunteer hours by 1,368 volunteers.

      • All grantees provide services primarily through volunteers; on average, clinics have 7.7 FTE paid staff in comparison to 130+ volunteers.

    Demographics

    • Cohort of grantees serve a broad demographic of patients by age, race, and ethnicity;

      • All organizations primarily serve working age adults, but collectively see patients of all ages.

      • The Community of Practice services patients from all represented race & ethnicity groups in their service areas, with a majority of clinics serving at least 50% BIPOC patients.

    • Per policy, all organizations are serving individuals at or below federal poverty level.

    Clinical Management

    Grantees were asked to provide the top five clinical diagnoses they treat in their patient populations:

    1. Diabetes & Hypertension

    2. Mental Health Conditions

    3. Dental Conditions

    4. Respiratory Conditions

    5. Hyperlipidemia