ECMC To Fund Community Testing With DSRIP Program Funds
ECMC Funds Inner-City Testing, Additional Healthcare Support Services.
BUFFALO, N.Y – Erie County Medical Center Corporation (ECMC) today announced a community-based, inner-city healthcare initiative designed to support Buffalo’s vulnerable, at-risk residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. ECMC has been able to expand its testing capability and the effort is in concert with Kaleida Health’s recently announced effort to expand its laboratory testing capability for COVID-19. The new testing at ECMC and Kaleida will be able to provide anyone in the general public who has been deemed symptomatic by their primary care doctor and have received a prescription to obtain testing. It is hopeful that more community testing will be supported by the federal government in the future.
Through Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program, NYS Medicaid Waiver funding will be used in vulnerable communities to increase testing and link individuals with primary care. The COVID pandemic is disproportionally affecting minority and economically challenged areas due to social determinates of health that have created underlining health conditions in these communities. Organizations that have existing agreements under the DSRIP Medicaid program in these vulnerable communities will be able to apply for COVID-19 testing sites and apply for grant funding for up to $2,500/day for up to 100 days. These organizations will have specific deliverables and reporting requirements to meet DSRIP goals.
$1.125M funds will also be provided to the African American Health Equity Task Force, to facilitate the Task Force’s work with inner-city churches and other community-based organizations to reach out to vulnerable individuals and educate them on COVID-19-related health issues and identify barriers to care and link individuals with primary care and COVID-19 testing sites.
Also with support of the New York State, ECMC, through the DSRIP Program, will also release $7.24 million as early distribution of funds to outpatient community partners, including primary care and behavioral health partners, as well as organizations who are engaged in three areas of activity: 1) Expanding healthcare capacity to reach Medicaid and vulnerable populations (e.g. telehealth); 2) Address social determinants of health (e.g., food, food pantries, rent assistance, housing); 3) and provide COVID-19-related care.
ECMCC President and CEO Thomas J. Quatroche Jr., Ph.D., said, “ECMC, as a safety net hospital, is committed to working with our community partners, including faith-based organizations, to provide the vitally important healthcare resources to vulnerable communities. I would like to commend the African American Health Equity Task Force members for their efforts to raise awareness of the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the inner city. We look forward to working with them and all of our community partners to advocate for additional public and private support to address the needs of vulnerable individuals during this crisis.”
About the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Corporation: The ECMC Corporation was established as a New York State Public Benefit Corporation and since 2004 has included an advanced academic medical center with 573 inpatient beds, on- and off-campus health centers, more than 30 outpatient specialty care services and Terrace View, a 390-bed long-term care facility. ECMC is Western New York’s only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, as well as a regional center for burn care, behavioral health services, transplantation, medical oncology and head & neck cancer care, rehabilitation and a major teaching facility for the University at Buffalo. Most ECMC physicians, dentists and pharmacists are dedicated faculty members of the university and/or members of a private practice plan. More Western New York residents are choosing ECMC for exceptional patient care and patient experiences – the difference between healthcare and true care ™. For additional information about ECMC, visit: www.ecmc.edu
About Millennium Collaborative Care (MCC): Millennium Collaborative Care, is a Performing Provider System (PPS) under New York State’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program, a statewide initiative championed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to fundamentally restructure the health care delivery system by reinvesting in the Medicaid program, with the primary goal of reducing avoidable hospital use by 25 percent over five years. Millennium is igniting healthcare change by partnering with physicians, healthcare providers and community-based organizations to improve the delivery of healthcare for Medicaid patients across the eight counties of Western New York. (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming). The Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) is the lead entity in the Millennium Collaborative Care Performing Provider System. www.ecmc.edu