title: The Health Commons and care of New Mexico's uninsured.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A seamless system of social, behavioral, and medical services for the uninsured was created to address the social determinants of disease, reduce health disparities, and foster local economic development in 2 inner-city neighborhoods and 2 rural counties in New Mexico.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our family medicine department helped urban and rural communities that had large uninsured, minority populations create Health Commons models. These models of care are characterized by health planning shared by community stakeholders; 1-stop shopping for medical, behavioral, and social services; employment of community health workers bridging the clinic and the community; and job creation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Outcomes of the Health Commons included creation of a Web-based assignment of uninsured emergency department patients to primary care homes, reducing return visits by 31%; creation of a Web-based interface allowing partner organizations with incompatible information systems to share medical information; and creation of a statewide telephone Health Advice Line offering rural and urban uninsured individuals access to health and social service information and referrals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Health Commons created jobs and has been sustained by attracting local investment and external public and private funding for its products. Our department's role in developing the Health Commons helped the academic health center (AHC) form mutually beneficial community partnerships with surrounding and distant urban and rural communities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Broad stakeholder participation built trust and investment in the Health Commons, expanding services for the uninsured. This participation also fostered marketable innovations applicable to all Health Commons' sites. Family medicine can promote the Health Commons as a venue for linking complementary strengths of the AHC and the community, while addressing the unique needs of each. Overall, our experience suggests that family medicine can play a leadership role in building collaborative approaches to seemingly intractable health problems among the uninsured, benefiting not only the community, but also the AHC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Derksen
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alfero
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DeFelice
authors.forename: Saverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sava
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomedi
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baptiste
authors.forename: Leora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jaeger
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Powell
mesh_terms: D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000458:organization & administration; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009516:New Mexico; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D012423:Rural Health; D014504:Urban Health