Nine finalists presented their social determinants of health interventions to expert panelists at the New York State Department of Health’s (DOH) recent Social Determinants of Health Innovations Summit. The event educated several hundred attendees from hospitals, health systems, performing provider systems, and community-based organizations (CBOs) about the work taking place across the State to address social needs.
Medicaid Director Donna Frescatore and Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services Paul Francis stressed in their opening remarks that delivery system reform requires that root causes of social determinants of health be addressed. Mr. Francis noted that New York is the first state to embed social determinants of health interventions and CBO partnerships into payment reform.
Health care finalists shared unique ways to address social needs through engagement, workforce, education, and neighborhood-based strategies and initiatives. Finalists included Montefiore Health System, which discussed a three-pronged approach to addressing social needs, and Family Health Centers at NYU Langone Health, which discussed its partnerships with local schools to provide school-based support to children and families in a trusted environment. CBO finalists discussed unique interventions, including medically tailored meal delivery, community engagement and healthy buildings to improve asthma control, and food prescriptions to improve rural communities’ access to healthy food. Technology finalists showed their respective tools for supporting numerous ways to address social needs. One tool compiles social data from various sources and provides analytics and risk scoring, a second facilitates care coordination and communication between health care facilities and their CBO partners, and a third supports provider and peer engagement with people living with HIV and AIDS through an online community.
Panelists included GNYHA’s Tim Johnson and representatives from several New York advocacy organizations and foundations. After congratulating the innovators, the panelists asked them about scalability and return on investment. Other social determinants of health interventions were highlighted during a poster session to share additional efforts and encourage innovation and partnerships.
GNYHA’s Social Determinants of Health Learning Series will continue with events this fall on developing a medical-legal partnership and addressing food insecurity.