Funded Projects

Problem:

The proposed Medical Hub and Mobile Unit Program for Vulnerable Youth will improve the existing medical hub serving vulnerable youth, unaccompanied children and foster youth (UAC/FY) and expecting and parenting youth (EPY) in East Los Angeles (ELA) with streamlined, accessible services and a monthly mobile unit program. Currently, majority of care for our UAC/FY is provided by Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) located in central Los Angeles, which is not an easy commute for foster parents. Care for our EPY isn't streamlined to provide them a medical home within the community they live in. If funded, the program will expand to become a community-driven medical hub by delivering most of the services (primary and urgent care and dental services) in ELA to meet the immediate health care needs of UAC/FY age 0-18, and strengthen continuity of care to EPY age 14-21. The program will also leverage the grant as an opportunity to expand our community medical outreach by piloting our monthly mobile unit program at Nuevo Amanecer Latino Children's Services (NALCS), our foster services and adoption agency partner in ELA. The mobile unit program will serve as a community clinic rotation for vulnerable youth and allow AltaMed's Family Medicine residents to enhance their continuity clinic experience by providing primary care services for vulnerable youth.

Goals and Objectives:

Goal 1. Increase access to care for 200 vulnerable youth annually through community driven services of the medical hub by: (a) Deepening collaboration with the Medical Hub partners in ELA; and (b) Increasing timeliness and accessibility of services for youth with the integration of a monthly mobile unit program that provides primary and dental with referrals of additional clinical, dental and social service needs. Goal 2. Enhance care coordination and case management of 200 vulnerable youth annually with streamlined and increased access to services by: (a) Developing a formal linkage to care system for the medical hub and mobile unit program; (b) Refining the role of CHLA as a partner that provides higher level of care emergency/in-patient services, and specialty, psychiatric and developmental services; and (c) Integrating two AltaMed clinics in ELA as medical hub partners. Goal 3. Increase AltaMed Family Medicine residents' competency in providing quality care to vulnerable youth by enhancing the Community Clinic with monthly participation in the Mobile Unit and Medical Hub Programs.

Methodology:

The project will 1) enhance the Community Clinic rotation for vulnerable youth that provides all medical care (e.g., wellness checks, physicals, Women's Health, FPACT) and comprehensive referral services (social, behavioral health, developmental and specialty services); 2) deploy a Linkage to Care coordinator who will help foster parents and EPY navigate AltaMed's Medical Hub services, by coordinating with the hub to schedule appointments, conducting follow-up calls, and recruiting and enrolling new patients; and 3) streamline services to provide majority of primary and dental care within the Medical Hub in ELA.

Coordination:

To meet the needs of UAC/FY and EPY, AltaMed is coordinating with our Medical Hub partners- NALCS, CHLA, our clinics at First Street and Goodrich, and our Mobile Unit, Oral Health Unit and Family Residency Programs, and Alma Family Services. Our model is overseen by our Project Advisory Board which consists of our medical hub partners, Youth Services, our pediatricians, our UAC/FY and EPY contract partners, and families including foster parents and former Youth Services participants.

Evaluation:

The project will conduct process-based evaluation to assess the completeness and timeliness of required activities and deliverables; and outcome based evaluation assessing access to care and care coordination using engagement of services, turnaround time, decreased emotional distress, patient satisfaction surveys and Bright Futures/AAP Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care as indicators.