L.A. Care’s Safety Net Initiatives Team to Present at Community Clinic Association Annual Symposium

The Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County and the Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers are hosting the 20th Annual Southern California Health Care Symposium, a one-day virtual event featuring 14 breakout sessions that highlight best practices in health care delivery. The theme of this year’s event is Reinvesting in Our Roots: Driving Innovation for Equity and Justice.

Two members of the Safety Net Initiatives (SNI) team at L.A. Care Health Plan will be on a panel titled Increasing Care Access to People Experiencing Homelessness During a Public Health Emergency. Becky Lee and Erika Granados, two L.A. Care SNI Program Managers, will be among four panelists sharing the challenges and lessons learned from the expansion of on-site health services at the Project Room Key sites in Los Angeles County. Project Room Key is a collaborative effort by the state, county and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to secure hotel and motel rooms for people experiencing homelessness, protecting high-risk individuals while helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

L.A. Care serves a significant number of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County and believes integrating homeless and health services can lead to improved health care and housing outcomes. Lee and Granados will explain how, during the pandemic, L.A. Care has become even more committed to leveraging its partnerships with organizations like LAHSA and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles to expand health services to people experiencing homelessness. This has come in the form of targeted grants and in-kind donations for health service providers serving the homeless population. The health plan also implemented a data match program to identify members who are eligible for Project Room Key, with the goal of improving care coordination.

Daniel Reti, the Healthcare Integration Coordinator at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and Dalma Diaz, the Strategic Initiatives Manager at the United Way of greater Los Angeles will join Lee and Granados on the panel.