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September – October 2019
Guest column from Ewa Matuszewski, CEO of MedNetOne Health Solutions
A beacon of behavioral health integration shines brightly in Warren
 Editor’s note: Ewa Matuszewski was recognized as one of the 2019 Crain’s Health Care Heroes earlier this year. The CEO and co-founder of MedNetOne, a physician organization, was an early advocate for integrated medical and behavioral health care. We asked her to write a column about this important topic.
While it’s long been in MedNetOne’s DNA to seek out community partners that meet the needs of a particular patient population, I’d like to thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for fostering its decade-long Patient-Centered Medical Home initiative through the Physician Group Incentive Program. Blue Cross took PCMH to its logical next level through its PCMH-Neighborhood program. PCMH-N is a network of health and community organizations that works collectively to offer whole-person care in a community neighborhood, while seeking to enhance overall physical and mental well-being. This effort has allowed physician organizations and others involved in community-based care to find allies who are focused on similar goals.
As Blue Cross continues its Mind-Body Connection campaign, I thought it fitting to share with you some details about the relationship that MedNetOne has with Judson Center, a member of our PCMH-Neighborhood. Judson Center is a multicounty human service agency that provides autism programs, behavioral health services, and child and family services, including foster care and adoption, employment services for persons with disabilities and, now, primary care for all ages.
Background
MedNetOne first became acquainted with Judson Center’s impressive work and mission through our collective efforts to expand the PCMH-N in the Wayne, Oakland and Macomb tri-county area through regional, health-based strategic alliances. In 2017, the Judson Center approached us to jointly apply for a health and well-being grant. While that first grant request wasn’t accepted, we weren’t defeated. A second joint grant application request for the integrated behavior health clinic model was approved by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, with additional funding from the Carls Foundation, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation.
With the February 2019 opening of the Judson Center Family Health Clinic in Judson Center’s Warren location, the strengths of our two organizations — primary care through Medical Network One and behavioral health through Judson Center — came together for the greater good of the Warren community. This partnership not only brought behavioral health into primary care at this location, it also supports Michigan’s Section 298 initiative to better coordinate physical and behavioral health services for Michigan residents.
Now, several months into operation, we’re building a patient base with a clinic that is anchored by a team made up of a primary care physician (working through Medical Network One) and supported by a psychiatrist, several nurse practitioners and other behavioral health resources, including health psychologists and social workers from Judson Center. There’s also a registered nurse, dietitian, diabetes educator and a community navigator.
The community navigator is a certified community health worker who is a front-line agent of change, helping to reduce health disparities in the community. This crucial member of the care team reaches patients where they live, eat, play, work and worship, and helps people get the care they need. Judson Center Family Health Clinic also has a bilingual receptionist/medical assistant who speaks Spanish. She provides additional outreach to the community’s Hispanic population.
Social determinants of health
There are many facets to primary care, and the integration of medical care with behavioral health care increases the value of overall care and its potential for positive change on broader community health. What we’re finding on our integrated health care journey with Judson Clinic is an increased opportunity to address the social determinants of health with this patient base. This opportunity was spurred on by the evaluation project that’s required as part of the grants that the Judson Center Family Health Clinic received. We’re working with a team of graduate students from the Master of Public Health program at the Oakland University School of Health Sciences to help identify key determinants of health and make a difference in the health of this patient population.
The social determinants of health are a complex web, where elements such as neighborhood, safety, transportation and education intersect. At the top of any list of key social determinants is income. It’s a well-documented driver of health and well-being.
What we might also want to consider, however, is that the social determinant of health that challenges even middle-class communities such as Warren is access to high-quality, healthy food. The Judson Family Health Clinic team thinks it’s time for everyone in the care community to consider the idea of using a prescription pad for food. It’s something the clinic is already implementing. A $5 prescription for carrots, potatoes and yellow beans may stave off a $100 prescription for high blood pressure or a $100,000 hospital stay.
It can be frustrating when seemingly simple solutions like these evade us or don’t get implemented. Yet we can’t become disheartened. In the spirit of the mind-body connection, we need to become aware of the many factors that can affect whole-person health. Sometimes a long but worthwhile journey begins with a few simple steps.
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