Rutgers
Law School Medical-Legal Partnership and the Camden Coalition of Healthcare
Providers support and improve basic health needs of community with help from
50,000 grant.
October 25, 2019
- The medical-legal partnership program at Rutgers University is poised to
receive a $50,000 grant from Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors
to help bolster what has already been a successful effort to address the social determinants of health
for vulnerable New Jersey patients.
“The Joint Board’s
funding has been crucial to our ability to build the MLP and expand the type
and number of cases that we can take,” says Kimberly Mutcherson, Rutgers Law
School co-dean. “Their support helps us bring needed legal services to the
people of Camden.”
Since The Rutgers Law
School Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) and the Camden Coalition of Healthcare
Providers partnered in 2017, they have successfully
addressed key social determinants of health and improved quality of life for
patients dealing with complex care issues.
Specifically, the MLP
has assisted 60 patients, obtained more than $10,000 in reduced fines and fees,
and secured more than $10,000 in disability benefits for patients.
This particular
partnership allows Camden-area residents the opportunity to work with Jeremy
Spiegel, MLP attorney, to resolve legal issues. Cases often include assisting
in clean-up of old cases of unpaid fines and fees, helping clients avoid
eviction from their homes, and preventing employers from wrongfully limiting
employees’ disability benefits.
Social workers and
community health staff will work alongside the Camden Coalition nurses to
coordinate patient care by connecting patients with a primary-care physician or
specialist and arrange transportation to get them to appointments.
Unresolved legal
issues can add to the stress that vulnerable patients are already experiencing,
which could affect their medical conditions and their ability to make
decisions, says Spiegel. “Sometimes, patients don’t
even recognize that the issues they have and the barriers they confront are
actually of a legal nature.”
Plans coming down the
pipeline for MLP include creating a clinical program housed at Rutgers Law
School in Camden to have faculty-supervised student- lawyers work with clients
to offer opportunities to students, from such disciplines as nursing and social
work, to participate in the MLP.
“There are many
patients in the Camden area with legal needs, and we want to serve a greater
number,” says Spiegel.
Healthcare
organizations can create community healthcare partnerships to drive continuous
patient engagement and an overall culture of health.
Legal firm Cook
County Health & Hospitals Systems (CCHHS) and LAF Chicago, two
community-based organizations, partnered to address and tackle the complex
social needs that affect patient health in their respective communities.
LAF Chicago, which
offers free legal service for underserved individuals in non-criminal cases,
was poised to help patients and providers overcome legal barriers in addressing
the social determinants of health.
“There is an overlap
between the clients that LAF serves—low income Cook County residents who have
civil legal needs—as well as the patients that the CCHHS provides care for,”
Kathy Chan, Cook County Health & Hospitals Systems (CCHHS) Director of
Policy told PatientEngagementHIT.com in an
interview.
The partnership
between the two community-based organizations showed great promise in
addressing the complicated social needs that affect patient health by looking
introspectively at city public workgroups and focusing on priority areas.
“Including community
voice in the practice of creating a partnership like this or creating
programming like this was really key,” explained Alice Setrini, who currently
serves as LAF’s medical-legal partnership project supervisory attorney. “It
strengthens the relationship that we have with different community
organizations because there is a reality of addressing real problems the
community faces with solutions that are coming from the community.”
The social
determinants of health (SDOH) are becoming increasingly relevant in the
healthcare space. As the healthcare industry continues toward patient-centered
care, experts are exploring patient health outside of the hospital’s four
walls.
Medical-legal
partnerships are one of many efforts organizations are putting forward to
address social determinants of health, in addition to housing and food
assistance programs.
No comments:
Post a Comment