Skip Navigation
A A A En Español Newsroom Contact Us Search:
Grantee Information
Organization: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (MHHD)
Organization Address: 201 W. Preston Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201
Phone Number: 410-767-1052
Fax Number: 410-333-7235
Organization website URL (if any): http://dhmh.maryland.gov/dhmh/home.html
Brief Description of the Organization: The vision of DHMH is lifelong health and wellness for all
Marylanders. DHMH works together to promote and improve the health and safety of all Marylanders
through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement.
Maryland’s health care delivery system consists of public and private hospitals, nursing homes,
outpatient clinics, home health care services, hospices, providers, and health educators, among others.
As a public health department, DHMH’s goal is to improve the health status of every Maryland resident
and to ensure access to quality health care. DHMH is responsible for helping each person live a life free from the threat of communicable diseases, tainted foods, and dangerous products. To assist in their mission, DHMH regulates health care providers, facilities, and organizations, and manages direct services to patients where appropriate.
Grant Project Information
Title of Grant Project: Educating Minorities of Benefits Received After Consumer Enrollment
(EMBRACE)
Amount of OMH Award: $200,000
Name of Project Director: Arlee Wallace
Phone Number of Project Director: 410-767-1052
E-mail Address of Project Director: The first objective is to decrease the percentage of persons uninsured in target zip codes by five percentage points over the grant period via community outreach through contracted community health workers (CHWs) and referrals from a hospital partner. The second objective is to obtain a twenty percent decrease during the grant period, in target zip codes, in the rate of ED visits or hospital admissions due to Prevention Quality Indicators (PQIs) or Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ABSCs). MHHA will accomplish this objective by holding community educational sessions aimed to improve health insurance literacy, and its CHWs will work with residents to help them overcome barriers to effective use of primary care services. The third objective is to decrease, by ten percent over the grant period, the number and percentage of Medicaid enrollees who have not had at least one primary care visit in the last 1-2 years, in target zip codes. The intervention plan includes direct referrals of individuals from the state Medicaid program who have not had primary care visits within 12, 18 or 24 months, prioritized on ED/admission use and presence of PQI diagnoses. Project staff will work with these individuals to help them overcome barriers to the effective use of primary care services. The evaluation plan’s core success measures the targets stated in the three objectives. These metrics will be computed annually from existing data systems (American Community Survey data, hospital discharge data, and Medicaid enrollee data) and do not require new data collection systems. In addition to the above pre-post assessment, DHMH will determine peer zip codes and compare change trajectory in target zip codes to these peer zip codes (difference in difference analysis). For intervention process evaluation, DHMH has performance measures with targets for metrics where volume is primarily a function of program effort, and measurable outputs (no targets) for metrics where volume is highly dependent on patient choice, or where there is insufficient knowledge or experience currently to set a meaningful expectation. Performance measures and measurable outputs will be reported quarterly. Objective 1 – intervention of general educational outreach to promote enrollment: Number of educational sessions held (3 per month); Number of attendees at sessions (60 per month); Number of informational materials distributed (1500 per year); Number of one-on-one interactions with individuals; Number of referrals/linkages of individuals to Connectors and Exchange. Objective 1 – targeted outreach by hospital to promote enrollment: Number of uninsured hospital utilizers identified; Number connected to hospital’s own support systems; Number referred to grant-funded CBO and CHWs; Number of persons achieving enrollment. Objective 2 – general outreach to promote primary care use among enrolled: Number of educational sessions (3 per month); Number of attendees at sessions (60 per month); Number of informational materials distributed (1500 per year). Number of one-on-one interactions with individuals resulting from the general outreach; Number of persons identified through general outreach who are referred/linked to program-funded CHWs. Objective 3 – targeted outreach to identified non users of primary care: Number of persons identified without primary care visits; number and percent of identified persons contacted by Medicaid program (85% assuming some are unreachable); Number and percent of contacted persons agreeing to assistance; Number and percent of persons agreeing to assistance reached by CHWs (75%); Number and percent of assisted persons who completed at least one primary care visit. NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR ACTION TO END HEALTH DISPARITIES GOALS None identified by the grantee. RELATED HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020 OBJECTIVES & SUBOBJECTIVES AHS-1: Increase the proportion of persons with health insurance. AHS-1.1: Increase the proportion of persons with medical insurance. AHS-3: Increase the proportion of persons with a usual primary care provider.
The evaluation plan’s core success measures the targets stated in the three objectives. These metrics will be computed annually from existing data systems (American Community Survey data, hospital discharge data, and Medicaid enrollee data) and do not require new data collection systems. In addition to the above pre-post assessment, DHMH will determine peer zip codes and compare change trajectory in target zip codes to these peer zip codes (difference in difference analysis).
For intervention process evaluation, DHMH has performance measures with targets for metrics where volume is primarily a function of program effort, and measurable outputs (no targets) for metrics where volume is highly dependent on patient choice, or where there is insufficient knowledge or experience currently to set a meaningful expectation. Performance measures and measurable outputs will be reported quarterly.
Objective 1 – intervention of general educational outreach to promote enrollment:
Objective 1 – targeted outreach by hospital to promote enrollment:
Objective 2 – general outreach to promote primary care use among enrolled:
Objective 3 – targeted outreach to identified non users of primary care:
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR ACTION TO END HEALTH DISPARITIES GOALS
None identified by the grantee.
RELATED HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020 OBJECTIVES & SUBOBJECTIVES
