The Program Will Help Reduce Hospitalizations & Costs
LOS ANGELES – L.A. Care Health Plan is proud to announce that it has awarded $500,000 to Plunum Health, a nonprofit that assists health centers in under-resourced communities enhance their efficiency and patient satisfaction. The L.A. Care grant will support the launch of the new Plunum Health Care Transformation Program at three health centers in Los Angeles County – Eisner Health, Saban Community Clinic, and Venice Family Clinic. All three centers serve L.A. Care members.
“The Care Transformation Program is going to advance quality improvement, and reduce hospitalizations and costs,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “This will be done through a Medical Home Network model, which will target services for our members and other low-income families to prevent the need for higher level and more costly services.”
Medical Home Network consultants working with Plunum will design clinical, financial, operational, and technical elements of the Care Transformation Program. The L.A. Care funding will help Plunum hire and train staff, and configure new software to implement the program. During the first year of the program, Plunum will develop individualized medical and social interventions based on detailed health risk assessment reports for up to 3,000 clients of the partner clinics.
"Plunum Health and its clinic partners share a common mission - to make a positive impact on the health status of the patients and communities we serve," said Joel Torrez, Executive Director of Plunum Health. "Our goal is to transform the way healthcare is delivered in the County of Los Angeles. We will do this by increasing patient engagement, utilizing artificial intelligence, and developing local solutions to address social determinants of health."
Plunum Health and its partners have a patient population of 110,000, primarily low-income Latinos. Support for this program is in alignment with L.A. Care’s commitment to advance health equity, ensuring everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.
Some of the other contributors to Plunum Health’s Care Transformation Program launch include Cedars-Sinai Hospital and California Community Foundation.