Press Release
Neighborhood Health Plan to Partner with Greater Lawrence
Family Health Center to Improve Postpartum and Well Child Visit Rates in Latina Community
Partnership a result of Culture InSight Award from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation
BOSTON, April 18, 2012 - Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP) announced today that it is joining forces with the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC) to form a community coalition to improve the postpartum and well child visit rates in the Lawrence Latina community. This partnership comes is the result of a training and technical assistance award to NHP from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation's (HPHCF) Culture InSight Program.
NHP identified a disparity in the rate of Latina women who receive a postpartum follow-up, a crucial doctor’s visit about 6 weeks after delivery, and a corresponding disparity of Latino children not receiving the recommended number of well child visits, check-ups with a pediatrician to ensure infants and children are healthy, in their first 15 months of life. NHP and the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center will build a coalition of core community organizations to assess barriers to care for this population and to design, implement, and evaluate an intervention to bridge the gap in care.
The project will last 15 months. As the coalition identifies the reasons why the targeted population is not receiving care, they will design ways to intervene and address these barriers.
"We are really excited to be working with GLFHC and grateful to Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation for this opportunity to start a coalition to improve the postpartum and well child visit rates- an issue that has a significant impact on our members in the Lawrence area," said NHP President and CEO Deb Enos. "The Culture InSight services and training we will receive will be integral to the success of building a community coalition with the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center."
About NHP
Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP) provides health care programs and related services to individuals receiving benefits under Medicaid, through small business employer groups, and through Massachusetts' ground-breaking health care reform. Founded in 1986 by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and the Greater Boston Forum for Health Action, NHP serves over 240,000 members statewide and has been recognized as a national leader in care for medically complex and severely disabled populations.
About The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation
Created in 1980, The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation supports Harvard Pilgrim's mission to improve the quality and value of health care for the people and communities we serve by providing the tools, training and leadership to help build healthy communities throughout New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than $123 million in funds. In 2011, the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation awarded more than $1.3 million in grants to almost 1,000 nonprofit organizations within the three states. For more information, please visit www.harvardpilgrim.org/foundation.
Media Contact: Isabel Black -- (617) 933-5013
©2012 Neighborhood Health Plan