Better Health Together (BHT), was recently named an Accountable Community of Health (ACH) by Washington State's Health Care Authority, one of two in the state. Led by Alison Carl White, BHT is partially funded by an HSSA "Access to Care" grant for its Hot Spotter Program, which it has successfully grown to meet the needs of frequent users of medical emergency departments rather than primary care physicians, a costly result. Allison is being promoted to Chief Strategy Officer for Community Development under Philanthropy in Action, a newly formed entity by Empire Health Foundation (EHF). She will retain her executive director position at BHT. Meanwhile, Alisha Fehrenhabacher will serve as the Interim Director of Better Health Together programs. The BHT program will be in the new WSU Teaching Health Center on the WSU campus.
Iasis Molecular Sciences, an HSSA grantee, was recently informed of a nearly $2 million award by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), that will fund research on Iasis' next generation urinary catheter, in collaboration with the Department of Urology, St. Joseph's Hospital, Ontario, Canada. Healthcare-associated infections, specifically catheter-associated urinary tract infections, are a serious complication for wounded war fighters.
Spokane's Prescription Drug Assistance Network (SPAN) is featured in the April edition of the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy in an article titled "Connecting Patients to Prescription Assistance Programs: Effects on Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization." The research that led to the publication was conducted by Spokane researchers and health care experts, and concludes that since its began its work it has resulted in a 51% decline in the rate of Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization. SPAN has brought to patients more than $15 million worth of prescribed medicines from national sources since it began. Its ROI is 18:1. It receives referrals from 62 entities, utilizes over 38 different pharmaceutical companies and obtains over 115 different medicines. This is another HSSA-funded success story. A key leader in the creation of the SPAN. now a statewide entity, is Spokane's own Dr. Sam Selinger. Dr. Selinger was instrumental in the founding of the former Project Access which brought health insurance to thousands of Spokane citizens who either had no insurance or were underinsured. It was an excellent program prior to the national Affordable Care Act.
