NEW ORLEANS – Healthy Blue Louisiana and Anthem Medicaid recently awarded the inaugural Bona Fide Blue Social Determinant Champion Award to DePaul Community Health Centers’ Community Health Navigators, who serve as cornerstones of DCHC’s Care Fellowship. The award recognizes DCHC’s CHN initiative as being a consistent leader in addressing patients’ social determinants of health, such as unemployment, food insecurity, a lack of housing and finances, which adversely impact their health outcomes.
Healthy Blue partnered with DCHC to launch a SDOH incentive program on April 1 with three CHNs to serve the health plan’s members by ameliorating their SDOH, connecting them to care, and subsequently improving their health outcomes. During the 2020 pandemic, the CHNs conducted more than 400 member assessments and made more than 500 referrals to the right places for help.
“We thank Healthy Blue and Anthem Medicaid for recognizing the important work that we perform every day. Health care outcomes for patients improve when health plans and community health centers both recognize issues and work collaboratively to solve them. DCHC appreciates its partnership with Healthy Blue and Anthem Medicaid and looks forward to expanding this work in an effort to help more individuals,” said Dr. Michael G. Griffin, DCHC’s president and CEO.