NUHEALTH’S FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS IN ROOSEVELT, ELMONT AND NEW CASSEL DESIGNATED AS LEVEL 3 PATIENT CENTERED MEDICAL HOMES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2011
PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055
NUHEALTH’S FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS IN ROOSEVELT, ELMONT AND NEW CASSEL DESIGNATED AS LEVEL 3 PATIENT CENTERED MEDICAL HOMES
LEVEL 3 IS HIGHEST DESIGNATION FOR FAMILY HEALTH CENTERS UNDER GUIDELINES BY THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE AND THE NEW-YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
EAST MEADOW, NY…Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the NuHealth System, announced that the NuHealth Family Health Centers in Roosevelt, Elmont, and New Cassel have received the highest designation of Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH), under guidelines promulgated by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and the New York State Department of Health. It is expected that the fourth family health center, Hempstead, which is presently a Level 2 PCMH, will receive the Level 3 designation in the not too distant future.
“This is extremely good news and it was obtained far earlier than anticipated. It is very impressive how far the family health centers have been transformed under the leadership of health centers medical director, Laurie Ward, MD,” said Gianelli. “Congratulations to those involved, especially Dr. Ward, Lee Raifman and Art Cusack for the success of this important endeavor. This Level 3 designation is a solid acknowledgement of your strong and dedicated leadership and a testament to your commitment to high quality care for our health centers’ patients.”
A PCMH is defined as “a model of care where each patient has an ongoing relationship with a personal physician who leads a team that takes collective responsibility for patient care.” The AHRQ defines a medical home as “not simply a place but a model of primary care that delivers care that is: patient centered, comprehensive, coordinated, accessible, and continuously improved through a systems based approach to quality and safety.”
PCMH designated practices must meet 9 standards, including access and communication, patient tracking and registry functions, care management, patient self-management support, electronic prescribing, test tracking, referral tracking, performance reporting and improvement, and advanced electronic communication. Each PCMH level carries with it an additional per member per month increase in compensation. These funds are supposed to be re-invested in the care provided at the Long Island FQHC to ensure, in particular, the active management of the care of the patients we serve.
Dr. Ward stated: “We are very excited with the news that the Roosevelt-Freeport, Elmont and New Cassel-Westbury Family Health Centers have achieved Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home status, the highest level of recognition bestowed by NCQA. This designation is a testament to all the hard work performed by our doctors, nurses and other support staff in working together as a team to provide excellent care to the patients we serve.”
ABOUT NUHEALTH
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life. Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community. By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.
For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.