Community case management: a strategy to improve access to medical care in uninsured populations.
Case management is a rapidly growing strategy to help vulnerable populations access the health care they need in a fragmented U.S. service delivery system. A number of lessons can be learned from the successes and challenges of a developing, hospital-based, community-focused case management group in Sedgwick County, Kansas. The Community Case Management program has a case management team based at each of four hospitals. Each team has a social worker and a nurse, whose main goal is to help the uninsured find a primary health care home. This dynamic combination has several benefits. Each team member brings a vital skill set in helping the clients change behavior and access the care and support they need. Also, the nurse-social worker team concept creates a synergy in which team members support each other and create the best solution to their clients' needs.
Wetta-Hall
Ruth
R
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita 67214-3199, USA. rwettaha@kumc.edu
Berry
Mark
M
Ablah
Elizabeth
E
Gillispie
Jacki M
JM
Stepp-Cornelius
Linda K
LK
D019090:Case Management; D003153:Community Health Services; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007615:Kansas; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011320:Primary Health Care; D016730:Program Development; D012947:Social Work