Opportunities and Innovations for Partnerships Building an Effective Field Operation for Outreach & Assistance

Older Americans Act: Foundation for the Aging Service System Why a Partnership? Administration on Aging Older Americans Act: Foundation for the Aging Service System Two-Fold Mission –Service Delivery System Development –Information, Assistance, Education Service Targeting –Greatest Social, Economic Need –Low-Income Minority Populations –Rural Populations

1965 Three Significant Programs for Seniors Enacted Medicare Medicaid Older Americans Act Our missions provided us with a historic opportunity to work together to ensure Medicare beneficiaries can make informed decisions about their health care coverage.

OAA On-Going Partnerships Systems ImprovementSystems Improvement –Governors/Mayors/County Officials Offices –State Legislatures/ City or County Councils –Other State/Local Government Agencies Older Persons and Family MembersOlder Persons and Family Members –Senior Organizations –Individuals to take action on their own behalf and to make informed decisions and choices Other OrganizationsOther Organizations –Public, Private Sector –National, State and Local

Essentials to Building Collaborative Partnerships Looking beyond natural allies toward non-traditional partners –New Way of Doing Business –Own your Strengths…and your weaknesses –Remember the Bottom Line: Beneficiary Process for coordination –ASA Call to Action –National Partnership Field Strategy Group Topic Specific Partnerships –Internalize Partner Mission –Find the ‘fit’ Sustainable Partnerships –Don’t get caught with your hair on fire

Key Barriers Barriers –Are you Threatening Me? Perceived Competition-real or not –Mission Driven versus Profit Driven –You are Not the Boss of Me…Who is on first Overcoming Barriers –Establish leadership – is Great but… –Leveraging can be an art form Lessons Learned – What is NOT effective –I can do it all… –Thanks for the help, we’ll call you next time –But we don’t DO that

Innovative Promising Practices National Partnership Field Strategy Group: Variety of National Partners representing Federal Programs, Aging Groups, Disease Groups, and Minority Populations who have community-based affiliates that reach Medicare Beneficiaries Resulting in: –Leveraging opportunities HRSA Spanish Language Outreach Kappa Kare Asian Language Helpline Focus Groups, materials review MOT Conferences What works –Open Communications – Weekly Meetings –Sharing resources - early –Understanding the Bottom Line

Contact Information: Mimi Toomey US Administration on Aging Washington, DC Phone: Cell: Fax:

Why a Partnership? NACHC’s Mission –To enhance and expand access to quality community responsive health care for America’s medically underserved Serve over 1 million Medicare beneficiaries and over 5 million Medicaid beneficiaries Current partnerships provide arena for information sharing among various groups

Essentials to Building Collaborative Partnerships With policy changes, NACHC looked to new partners to better serve its members –Changes in LIS benefit information –Open enrollment period materials Identify common goals of partners Work as a team to reach goals –How to reach underserved populations? –What resources do partners have available?

Key Barriers Educating Partners on FQHCs –What are FQHCs? Who do FQHCs serve? Reaching patients though providers Disseminating relevant information to NACHC constituents –Must decide what should be shared, how it should be shared, and when it should be shared

Innovative Promising Practices Increased awareness at FQHCs regarding Medicare issues –Medicare “A Healthier US Starts Here” bus tour Ability to disseminate information to a wider audience –NACHC communication tools Work with Partnership has led to collaboration on grant funding and other opportunities

Contact Information: Susan H. Jenkins Assistant Director, Federal Affairs National Association of Community Health Centers 1400 Eye Street, NW, Suite 330 Washington, DC (fax)

Why a Partnership? The National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, Inc. is the only national organization solely dedicated to improving the quality of life for low-income African American and minority seniors. NCBA can only fulfill its mission through collaborative efforts with organization such as CMS/AOA/NHCOA and others. Partnering allows NCBA and others to maximize their efforts and the reach into the community Effective communication allows NCBA to be able to partner with other organizations who are trying to make a difference in the communities in which they serve.

Essentials to Building Collaborative Partnerships For the African American community, non-traditional partnering has become a way of conducting business. NCBA reaches into the African American faith-based community, social and civic organizations. In some instances, we provided information to the local barber shop and the beauty salon. Partners were pulled together collectively and individually to participate in training and education sessions. NCBA was able to establish a common thread between the partners and the outreach efforts that were taking place. Partnering works best around specific and targeted topics. NCBA has been able to sustain partnerships by creating additional opportunities that partners can mutually benefit from, ie., Kappa Kare event with NCBA and CMS.

Key Barriers Many times, there are limited resources so many organizations find themselves competing over the same pool of resources. One of the main things that NCBA learned was to communicate with other organizations regarding our plans for activities on the local level. By not communicating, it can lead to duplicate efforts that many times can confuse the constituency. Not understanding your target population is not helpful. Understanding if there are cultural barriers that might be present, the location in which you are holding the event and or the time of day all lead to a successful outreach campaign.

Innovative Promising Practices From partnerships, comes a greater understanding and a better use of resources. NCBA has been able to broaden its reach and scope of work by utilizing our partners in other endeavors. The partnerships that were established have led to increased resource sharing and future collaborations that would not happened in another environment. Again, effective communication between vested partners is the key. By communicating your strategy and your strengths and weaknesses, other organizations can draw upon that and add value to the end game plan. (ex. NCBA long standing partnership with NHCOA)

Contact Information: Daniel R. Wilson Executive Director of Policy and Program Development The National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, Inc L Street, N.W. Suite 800 Washington, DC Ph Fax

Sandy Leonard, AstraZeneca

Applying What You Have Learned Group Breakout Session Kelli Jo Greiner, MN SHIP Director Moderator