Progress 08/15/23 to 08/14/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is Medicaid members, ages 3-17, in 6 rural parishes in Louisiana. During this reporting period we have also focused on onboarding and collaborating with partners (technology and provider) and improving processes and participant engagement in Healthy Families Produce Rx. Changes/Problems:As noted, we were unable to execute a sub-award agreement with the Louisiana Department of Health to utilize community health workers to increase enrollment capacity. However, adopting the FreshConnect voucher platform streamlined some enrollment processes and communications, making it easier for patients to be connected with the program. Because of this, the community health workers were able to integrate referrals to the program as part of their existing work, without the need for additional funds to support this capacity. We explored a self enrollment technology buildout in the FreshConnect system to further streamline enrollment for participants. While we did not have time to build this component and test it within the remaining grant timeline, we were able to work with About Fresh to develop a bulk enrollment process, using self-enrollment capabilities from another technology platform (FindHelp) and then uploading into the FreshConnect platform. This process still minimized barriers for families to enroll, giving them the ability to complete the enrollment form at a time that was convenient to them, while also minimizing staff effort in data entry within the FreshConnect portal. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training was provided to Community Health Workers related to supporting program enrollment, use of FreshConnect technology and navigation for families to additional food resources. Program staff from Share Our Strength and partner organization, Aetna Better Health of Louisiana presented on lessons learned implementing a produce prescription program in rural communities in Louisiana at the RISE Social Determinants of Health Conference in April, 2024. The session was attended by other health and community organization staff and provided insights and best practices for program implementation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Program staff from Share Our Strength and partner organization, Aetna Better Health of Louisiana presented on lessons learned implementing a produce prescription program in rural communities in Louisiana at the RISE Social Determinants of Health Conference in April, 2024. The session was attended by other health and community organization staff and provided insights and best practices for program implementation. Upon program completion additional results from qualitative and quantitative evaluation will be shared with partners and participants via a webinar and written summary report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the final 4 months of the project, approximately 470 families will complete voucher redemption. The enhancement grant funds to support technology and enrollment enhancements was successful in streamlining enrollment for 755 participants. Many of the grant goals have already been accomplished, but in the final months we plan to continue supporting the remaining participants to redeem voucher funds and using the FreshConnect technology to quickly identify participants who may need reminders or other support. We will also continue to collect follow up surveys from participants to understand impacts on fruit and vegetable consumption and perceived health. Finally, we will begin to identify and compile lessons learned, qualitative data and impacts from this project that can be used to inform future work. We will develop a summary report and dissemination plan to partners, participants and other stakeholders.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We researched and identified a technology solution that can provide ease of enrollment in the produce prescription program, reduce administrative burden and support engagement with participants. Fresh Connect is the identified technology solution that can best support this project's goals. A vendor contract was executed in October 2023 and our program immediately commenced use of the FreshConnect technology including database, enrollment platform and voucher debit card. 422 participants were newly enrolled and 333 participants extended program enrollment utilizing the FreshConnect technology. Nearly $100,000 in grant funds were spent on fresh produce purchases by enrollees during this reporting period. Interviews with program participants indicated that the new voucher technology promoted ease of use and flexibility in where purchases could be made. Further, the FreshConnect technology platform allowed program staff and customer service to actively reach out to participants with low voucher use. This was due to the ability to view enrollee card use and engagement in real time using this platform. Additionally, we identified Community Health Workers (CHWs) through the Louisiana Department of Health as a solution for supporting clinical teams in program enrollment, navigation and follow up. We pursued a subaward agreement, but were unsuccessful in executing a contract within a reasonable time frame. For this reason we sought a budget adjustment to shift additional funds to the vendor contract with FreshConnect allowing additional enrollment in the program, given the efficiencies gained through this technology solution. Despite being unable to execute a contract, we were still able to work with the CHWs within their current scope of practice, to successfully identify and refer families to the program. In total, CHWs assisted 239 families to enroll in the program. Families who indicated additional needs for food resource navigation, such as SNAP application assistance, were also referred back to the CHW's for follow up support.
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Progress 08/15/22 to 08/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audinece is Aetna Better Health of Lousiana Medicaid members in 6 rural parishes in Louisiana, however during this grant period, we have focused on identifying and new onboarding partners (technology and provider) and improving processes and participant engagement inHealthy Families Produce Rx. Changes/Problems:The enhancement funds were intended to remove barriers for participants and clinics for enrolling in Healthy Families Produce Rx, and specifically were designed to leverage technology and clinical capacity for those aims. A change that was requested and approved included contracting with FreshConnect as the technology vendor, rather than developing a new technology application. FreshConnect technology offered features that we desired a contractor to build - including robust enrollment platform and seamless communication with participants. The initial proposal alsoncluded grants to individual clinics to support staff to conduct program enrollment with patients, however this was not feasible for small, rural clinics with limited staff capacity. We identified a solution to this challenge as a partnership and subaward to the Louisiana Department of Health, utilizing Community Health Worker staff in each parish to support clinical capacity to identify and enroll families in the program. Additionally, we have identified a barrier to full program use after families enroll and have noted a pattern of low or non-use for the first 1-2 months followed by full use in months 3-6 of the program. We will be implementing an approvedchange to allow a subset of 300 participants re-enroll in the program for an additional 6 month period to mitigate these challenges and examine the impact of longer prescription dose on program outcomes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training for Community Health Workers is in development and will focus on supporting program enrollment and navigation for families to additional food resources. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will execute sub-award contracts with both Fresh Connect and Lousiana Department of Health. Once agreements have been finalized we will 1) provide training to Community Health Workers and deploy them to support enrollment and program navigation and 2) begin utilizing the FreshConnect technology to streamline enrollment process, voucher redemption data, and participant communications all in one platform. Once these partnerships and solutions are in place, we will proceed with program outreach and enrollments to reach our goal of 1250 participating families.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We researched and identified a technology solution that can provide ease of enrollment in the produce prescription program, reduce administrative burden and support engagement with participants. Fresh Connect is the identified technology solution that can best support this project's goals. Additionally, we identified Community Health Workers through Louisiana Department of Health as a solution for supporting clinical teams in program enrollment, navigation and follow up. After identification of these solutions and supports, subaward and vendor contracting was initiated, but not yet finalized in this program year.
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