Collaboration between Metro health and social service providers receives federal boost

NEW ORLEANS In the wake of cuts to Charity Hospital, rising numbers of uninsured residents, and dwindling
resources available to address human service needs in the New Orleans metro region, the Partnership for Access to
Healthcare (PATH) received word this month that it has been awarded $2.6 million in federal grant funds over three
years to continue and expand its community health-related programs. The grant was awarded by the Department of
Health and Human Services Healthy Communities Access Program (HCAP) to support PATHs Metro Access
Project, or MAP. Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans will serve as the fiscal agent for PATH for this
grant. “Collaborating with others to pool resources will provide better service to a greater number of people. That is what Catholic Charities is called to do,” says Gordon Wadge, President of Catholic Charities.”

PATH is an organization of leaders in the health and social service sectors of metro New Orleans working together on behalf of their organizations to achieve quality, equity, and access to comprehensive health and social service systems
for those with limited access. Its member organizations include the Medical Center of Louisiana (Charity Hospital),
LSU School of Public Health, the New Orleans Health Department, Catholic Charities, Department of Health and Hospitals/Office of Public Health, Volunteers of America, EXCELth Incorporated, Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans, St. Thomas Health Services and the Louisiana Public Health Institute and others.

PATH, along with other partners, will administer the Metro Access Project in underserved areas of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Charles Parishes. The three-year project has four major components:

1. Integrate mental health, substance abuse treatment and other human services with the medical services
provided at Community Health Clinics in the metro area;

2. Implement technology solutions that support and build upon the coordination of services provided by the
regions healthcare, faith-based and social service organizations;

3. Improve the skills of care givers and service providers in assisting special populations; and

4. Improve health literacy for vulnerable members of the community, to further empower them in their
healthcare.

This is an exciting and challenging opportunity for our community says Sister Anthony Barczykowski, D.C.,
Executive Director of the Department of Community Services at the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Sister Anthony adds that the goal of service coordination can only be achieved through ollaboration, and this is an opportunity for us to build upon a foundation that has been firmly established.

Over the past four years, PATH focused much of its effort and resources on developing an information system called
CLIQ (short for Clinical Inquiry). With support from the HRSA and four Catholic Health Systems, PATH developed
this system that now operates behind the scenes in partner hospitals and clinics to ease access to clinical information
(such as laboratory reports and other diagnostic information) for thousands of medical providers who deliver services to un- and under-insured residents of the Metro area. Dr. Wayne Wilbright of the LSU Health Sciences Center School
of Public Health and the CLIQ Project Director extols the benefits of this type of system: The benefits to our
community are immense. We are improving patient safety and the quality of services that our consumers receive, plus
we are helping control costs and increase our efficiency at a time when resources are scarce.