Welcome!

It is a pleasure having you with us tonight to honor two very impressive health care leaders and celebrate the Partners in Care Foundation.

Since 1997 Partners has been driving the new shape of care with a goal of improving the lives of people with complex social/health needs – people with disabilities, the chronically ill, the disadvantaged, and the elderly. During these years, we have served almost two million people needing social care services –be it for care coordination, care transition services, evidencebased health self-management programs, or other resources and information.

The agency was founded with one big idea in mind –that people should be able to safely enjoy living in the community and their home for as long as they can. That medical concerns alone should not drive people to medical care facilities too late – be it ER use, an extended hospital stay or a nursing home. Our Visiting Nurse roots reminded us that there were fixable things in people’s environments that made a dramatic difference in whether or not they were frequent visitors to the emergency room, challenging to discharge or ended up moving to a care facility.

Katherine A. Kirchhoff Board Chair

We saw how prescription medications interactions could make people dizzy and fall. We saw a lack of basic transportation preventing people from getting to medical appointments. We saw how fragmentation of families and social conditions – not to mention a complex health system –meant that many older folks ended up confused about how to navigate the system to access the services for which they were eligible. And we knew with the application of simple and inexpensive interventions, many of these symptoms could be mitigated, allowing individuals to safely stay in their home, usually both healthier and happier.

Little did we know 25 years ago we were observing social circumstances that in the past five years have now become universally known as the social determinants of health.

Partners is a change agent, not only addressing the needs of those here in our own backyard, but statewide by consulting on efforts that improve people’s lives through CalAIM. We are actively engaged in conversations on the use of resources to best achieve state and local goals. This includes formulating and presenting solutions to health plans, state agencies, and funders. In this role, we are representing the views and needs of community-based organizations as eligibility, covered services, reimbursement rules, and regulations are reviewed and revised.

Nationally, we co-lead a major initiative, the Partnership to Align Social Care - partnering with major health plans, federal agencies, medical providers, and community-based organizations –to co-design a new and better coordinated social and health service delivery eco-system. We believe this effort will strongly align the roles of all stakeholders around the needs of people with disabilities, the chronically ill, the disadvantaged, and the elderly.

June Simmons President & CEO

Ensuring that service structures are in place and supported by policy and regulation is crucial, as is training the community health workers and other social care staff necessary to meet the needs of a growing aging population, which we are now doing through our Workforce Development Center.

As we reflect on 25 years of service and leadership, we see the change that is both possible and happening as providers, health plans, and community-based organizations work together. Even more encouraging is the recognition of our role in guiding this change.

Please join us in driving the new shape of care. Look at the wonderful things we can accomplish working together!

Thank you for being here tonight. Please enjoy the evening.

Katherine A. Kirchhoff Chair, Partners in Care Foundation Board of Directors

June Simmons President & CEO Partners in Care Foundation