Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc., in partnership with the Select Health Managed Care Organization, is receiving a CMS Health Care Innovation Award for a project aimed at improving health outcomes for populations in underserved, low-income areas of Columbia, South Carolina. Eau Claire will use health care teams of nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and community health workers affiliated with a Federally Qualified Health Center to provide patient education, home visits, and care coordination, leading to reduced use of high cost health care services, including emergency room visits and hospitalizations, improved self-management for patients with chronic conditions, a decrease in low birth weight infant care, and improved health outcomes in general. Payers have agreed to reimburse a portion of cost savings.
