Six-Month Program Aims to Improve Equitable Patient Care and Health Outcomes
Los Angeles – The American health care system is complex, and constantly evolving, with rapid changes and increasing pressure to improve outcomes and reduce disparities. COVID-19 further amplified the challenges safety net providers face as they try to adapt to the changes, often with few resources or guidance. L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country, is determined to help frontline providers, not only cope, but thrive. Keeping the healthcare safety net strong and vibrant through targeted provider training and retention initiatives is a key priority for L.A. Care.
This week, the health plan is kicking off its L.A. Care Provider Leadership Program (PLP) focusing on community clinic providers working in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and other safety net clinics. From 2016 through 2020, the program’s four cohorts focused on enhancing the leadership and management skills of physicians. Starting this year, L.A. Care has contracted with the Center for Health Care Strategies to expand the PLP for a broader range of clinical providers who are serving under-resourced communities in Los Angeles County. These providers serve the most vulnerable L.A. Care members – those struggling with homelessness, trauma from incarceration, poverty, and mental health issues.
“Traditional medical education focuses on the clinical aspects of practice,” said Dr. Richard Seidman, MD, MPH, L.A. Care’s Chief Medical Officer. “This program will educate clinical providers about leading a team, delegating responsibilities, reducing disparities, and more. Ultimately, we want to help our providers improve the care of our members and others in the communities where they live.”
In 2021, L.A. Care committed $150,000 for 20 providers to participate in this six-month program. This cohort includes physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, a behavioral health provider and a nurse midwife who will be guided through a leadership assessment, will participate in 12 virtual seminars and will be provided with individualized coaching to support development of a leadership project.
“I have continually fallen back on my training, specifically the coaching from the leadership program, and it has been instrumental in what I have been able to accomplish as Director of Kedren Community Health Center’s COVID-19 vaccination program,” said Jerry Abraham, MD, MPH a 2018 graduate of the leadership program. “One of the most daunting challenges has been the human factor – leading and managing a team of hundreds of volunteers and staff full of various personalities and leadership styles. Through the training, teaching, coaching, and tools provided to me through the PLP, I was able to employ techniques tailored to these specific challenges, which has resulted in the success of Kedren Vaccines, having vaccinated over 120,000 arms in South Los Angeles.”
The virtual seminars will focus on a range of skills and topics that help leaders increase their influence and ability to drive innovation. The leadership project that each participant develops will serve as an opportunity to practice leadership strategies learned in the program, and that also address the real world challenges and opportunities facing their patients and clinics.
“We are thrilled to be working with L.A. Care to help providers develop the practical leadership and management skills necessary to effect transformational change within their health centers,” said Mark Larson, Senior Vice President, Leadership and Capacity Building at the Center for Health Care Strategies. “We know that these skills will ultimately improve patient care and equitable health outcomes within L.A. County.”
This unique professional development opportunity for clinic providers aligns with L.A. Care’s mission to provide access to high quality care for the county’s low-income residents and to support the safety net, and also aligns with the health plan’s commitment to advance health equity for our members and their communities.
About the Center for Health Care Strategies
The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is a nonprofit policy center dedicated to improving the health of low-income populations. It works with state and federal agencies, health plans, providers, and community-based organizations to develop innovative programs that better serve beneficiaries of publicly financed care, especially people with complex, high‐cost needs.