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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02102004 - C57 _....._. ......... ......... ......... ............. ... ...._ .....__ ........... ........._.... ._....... _........ ......... ......... ......... ......... .............._. .__ _. _. ...._.._...._.................................................... ContraTO: BOARD OF S'UPERViSORS , ; - " �. FROM: JOHN SWEETEN, County Administrator Costa DATE: FEBRUARY 10, 2004 County SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO SUBMIT ENTRIES TO THE NACo ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS PROGRAM SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: AUTHORIZE the Chair, Board of Supervisors, to sign applications for submission to the National Association of Counties for the 2004 Achievement Awards Program. FISCAL IMPACT: A$50.00 application fee is required for each of the two entries, totaling $100.00. BACKGROUND: The National Association of Counties (NACo) is sponsoring the NACo Achievement Awards Program for 2004 and Contra Costa County wishes to participate in the program. The County will nominate the following programs for award consideration: • Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas (Community development Department) • Up Front Financial Counseling (Health Services Department) In submitting these applications, the County agrees to the Program requirements and responsibilities as set forth by NACo for entering into the awards program. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: , YES ONO SIGNATURE: ------------—�__._. -----W_ ._-------__—_�--------------_--- ------- v -- ----___ ------—. _-- - -- �2ECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD f 6MMITTEEy— �- -4_APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S). ACTION OF BO D N �' 'Gt -"APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE s€ AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED: FEBRUARY 10,2004 CONTACT: JULIE ENEA (825)335-1077 JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND CC: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT BY__ :` G f L- .G -'\—J DEPUTY XW4 (Please refer to"Step One:Completion of the Transmittal Form"for directions on properly completing this form). i. Program Information(See program category list included in "Step One" of the instructions). County and State Contra Costa, California Program Title Up Front Financial Counseling Program Category Health Services Department II. Contact information Name Stephanie R. Bailey Title Director of Administrative Services, Office of Ambulatory Care Department Contra Costa Health Services Address 2500 Alhambra Avenue Address City/State/Zip Martinez, CA 94553 Telephone (925) 370-5101 Fax (925) 370-5900 Email sbailev@hsd.co.contra-costa.ca.us 0 Yes! Please add me to NACo's Peer to Peer Network(See Reverse) 11111. Signature of Chief Elected Official Name Federal D. Clover Title Char of th Bar Supervisors Signature IV. Payment: Please choose one of two payment options listed below Payment Option i 10 Check Check Number: C., �- •Money Order Money Order Number: •Credit Card Credit Card Type: Cl Visa Q Mastercard Credit Card Number Expiration Date Name of Cardholder Authorized Signature Member Fee $50 $522,a 0 Non-Member Fee $100 $ Payment Option 2 Q Voucher Voucher Number: 0 Purchase Order Purchase Order Number: Member Fee $60 $. Non-Member Fee $110 $ ii xwU&w for aitcbrl al �,al a srury r3, zov Contra Costa County Contra Costa Health Services Consolidated Appointment and Financial Counseling Project 1. Abstract of the Program Contra Costa Health Services created a unique approach to a problem faced by public health systems across the state and nation. To deal with acute budget shortfalls, we looked for ways to generate more revenue in Ambulatory Care by streamlining our appointment system and financial counseling process. To concentrate our available resources on those who are our primary responsibility-people who live in Contra Costa who are most vulnerable due to low income or lack of insurance and to provide priority access to those eligible patients we are currently seeing,we moved our financial screening process up front and centralized it.We also began utilizing an innovative information technology approach to determining eligibility for care and maximizing the efficiency of the process. Our new program began,July 1,2003 and we have already seen a reduction in private pay(no pay) visits and an increase in Medi•Cal visits. In the first six months of operation,this project increased our net revenue by approximately$2,500,000. Full year revenue increases of$5,200,000 are projected. 2. The Problem/Need for the Program The Ambulatory Care system of Contra Costa Health Services consists of 10 geographically diverse health centers. Primarily staff at our Central Appointment Unit schedule medical appointments. Prior to implementing our project,patients received primary care appointments,if available, on a first-call-first-served basis. For patients without health insurance or program coverage to pay for their visit,the financial counseling process began on the day they arrived for their appointment. Like other public health systems facing reduced revenue from federal,state and local levels, in fall of 2002 we knew that the only way to maintain access in our Ambulatory Care system through these tight budgetary times was to find a way to maximize revenue. Approximately 11%of our 311,000 Ambulatory Care visits were by patients determined to be"private pay. In FY 2002/2003, we had nearly 38,000 visits by patients who either didn't qualify or didn't apply for program coverage or enrollment in the county's medically indigent program for adults and children. We received very little, if any, revenue from these visits. 1 Contra Costa County Contra Costa Health Services Consolidated Appointment and Financial Counseling Project Our system was too "open" for anyone seeking care and, as a result,we were serving patients who were enrolled in other managed care plans— patients who were not Contra Costa County residents and higher income patients who,oftentimes,didn't pay their bills. While we were filling appointment slots with "ineligible" patients, we also had"eligible" patients denied appointments because our demand of appointments exceeds supply nearly every day. 3. Description of the Program Beginning July 1,2003,we accomplished two major changes: (1)we centralized and moved our financial counseling process to the "front end"; and (2) Cour Information Technology department created an Enterprise-wide Master Person Index (eMPI). The telephone call distribution system is interfaced to the eMPI to automatically determine patient eligibility for appointments and route calls accordingly.When someone calls our Central Appointment Unit for a medical appointment,they're now asked to use their touch-tone phone to enter a unique identifying number.It may be a medical record number,a health plan ID number or a Medi-Cal[MEDS]ID number. This now allows only"eligible"patients to schedule appointments and requires others to receive financial screening as a first step.If the financial status determines eligibility,then the call is instantaneously(and seamlessly)directed to the queue to speak with an appointment scheduler. If the patient's record indicates expired or no eligibility,then the call is immediately directed to the queue to speak with one of fifteen financial counselors. If the financial counselor takes a Medi-Cal application,an application for our county medically indigent program(known as Basic Health Care or BHC}or otherwise finds the patient to be eligible,the call is then transferred to the appointment scheduler. For patients determined not to be eligible for care in our system,they are advised to seek care in the appropriate county or health system. Eligible patients include those who are members of the County owned and operated HMS?, those who qualify for our county medically indigent program known as the Basic Health Care,or BHC,and those who are Medi-Cal and/or Medicare recipients not enrolled in a managed care plan other than ours. Contra Costa County residents are eligible for our BHC program if they have an income less than 300% of the federal poverty level. An important component of our program was the creation of an appeals process that will ensure that no patient's health is permanently adversely affected by this program.. A process was developed whereby a patient or a provider may appeal a particular case and financial counselors, 2 Contra Costa County Contra Costa Health Services Consolidated Appointment and Financial Counseling Project working together with a patient services representative and,when appropriate,a'physician executive may grant an exception to continue care for a defined period of time. 4. Use of Technology Our Information Technology department created an Enterprise-wide Master Person Index (eMPI). The telephone call distribution system is interfaced to the eMPI to automatically determine patient eligibility for appointments and route calls accordingly.Based on the number the caller enters when they call Central Appointments,the eMPI database is searched and the patient's financial status that day is located.This connection between the eMPI database and the telephone automatic call distribution (ACD) system is the single most important element of the Lip Front Financial Counseling program. The eMPI database was designed to be a central repository of information about people who have received or are eligible to receive health care services from five different databases,including the Medi-Cal[MEDS]system. Based on information the eMPI receives from these databases,it calculates a code known as"Today's Financial Class"representing an individual's insurance coverage. Also required was the design and implementation of telephone software which captures an ID number keyed into a touch-tone phone by a caller,uses the eMPI to identify the caller (based on the number entered), and routes the phone call according to the individual's "Today's Financial Class." 5. Cost of the Program Development of the eMPI database and design and implementation of the telephone software required a one-time expenditure of$100,000.We also increased our financial counseling staff with an annual expenditure increase of$200,000. 6. The Results/Success of the Program After six months of operation under this new program, the data indicated that we have successfully achieved our goal of increasing revenue. Compared with FY 2002/2003,our 2003/04 year to date numbers show: • The number of"private pay" visits dropped from 11%to 6% of total visits; 3 Contra Costa County j Contra Costa Health Services Consolidated Appointment and Financial Counseling Project • The number of Medi-Cal visits increased from 25% to 30% of total visits; • The number of BHC visits increased from 12% to 15% of total visits' If the remainder of the fiscal year continues to reflect a similar financial mix of patient visits in Ambulatory Care,we expect to increase our annual revenue by an estimated$5,24,000. We did increase our financial counseling staff with an annual expenditure increase of$200,400 and invested $144,004 in onetime costs for software and systems development. This leaves us with an estimated net revenue increase of$5,000,444. In addition,more patients have been enrolled in Medi-Cal and in our Basic Health Care program. This kind of positive outcome will allow us to preserve our Ambulatory Care system and provide better access to care to our eligible patients in difficult budgetary times. 7. Worthiness of an Award At a time when public agencies are facing severe budget crisis and are fighting to maintain services,this project dramatically increased revenue. The project utilizes technology to immediately identify patients who have no insurance coverage and route them to a financialcounselor to begin the insurance application process. While the project has been implemented thus far only in the county's 10 Ambulatory care centers, it has the potential to be expanded to mental health and substance abuse operations as well, generating even more revenue and utilizing no additional technology. 4 (Please refer to 'Step One: Completion of the Transmittal Form" for directions on property completing this form), 1. Program Information (See program category list included in "Step One"of the instructions). County and State Contra Costa CountV Program Title Program Category If. Contact Information Name John KopQhik Title Principal Planner Department Address 651 Pine Street 4th Floor North Win Address City/State/Zip Martittez�, CA 945_5 _,,_ Telephone 925--335-1227 Fax �..... 225-335-1299 Email ko @cd.cccounty.us D Yes! Please add me to NACo's Peer to Peer Network(See Reverse) Ili. Signature of Chief Elected Official Name Federal D. Glover _ Title Chair of th Bar u ervisors Signature IV. Payment; Please choose one of two payment options fisted below Payment Option # *Check Check Number:6L!! &(06`�Z G Money Order Money Order Number: *Credit Card Credit Card Type: Q Visa 0 Mastercard Credit Card Number Expiration Date Name of Cardholder Authorized Signature Member Fee $50 Non-Member Fee $100 $ Payment Option 2 G Voucher Voucher Number: iD Purchase Order Purchase Order Number: Member Fee $60 $ Non-Member Fee $110 t Program/Project Title: Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas 1)Abstract of the Program Contra Costa County is home to almost one million people, beautiful landscape, and important natural resources including, 1,350 mires of creeps that weave through 465,000 acres of watershed land and feed into the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary. Yet a 2002 Contra Costa Resource Conservation District Survey of creekside residents revealed that only about 25% of respondents were aware of their proximity to the creek. Recognizing that creeks are a primary connection between people and the natural environments, in 1991 community and local non-profit groups joinedwith local government agencies to form the Contra Costa Watershed Forum (CCWF). To assist with public education and awareness about the importance of creeks and watersheds, as well as to provide public policy makers and community groups with 'a consolidated resource on the 28 major watershed in the county, the CCWF produced the full color, 150-page book entitled "The Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas." The Atlas was prepared by the Contra Costa County Community Development Department, which serves as staff to the Watershed Forum. AddiTional support and assistance was provided by the County Public works Department and members of the Watershed Forum,. The Atlas is a powerful public education tool providing maps, statistics, and descriptive text about Contra Costa's major watersheds and creeks. 2)The Problem/Need for the Program Data Centralization and Data Inventory Data on creeks and watersheds is spread among Federal, state and local agencies. Additional data is stored at-academic and research institutions. Previously there was no centralized location or inventory of the existing data on the creeks and watersheds of Contra Costa County. Inventorying the existing GIS data made clear where data needed to be acquired, updated or augmented. Specifically, data on the conditions and locations of creeks was lacking. Volunteers, with guidance from. county staff, developed and used a GPS data collection program to map creek channels and conditions. The coordination opportunities and relationships realized between different stakeholders made a complete data inventory and evaluation possible. Information Availability The effective presentation and translation of data into information that is accessible to the lay-person and useful to the resource manager was not widely available in Contra Costa County. In the Atlas,creek and watershed information is displayed alongside physical political, transportation, and landuse information data in a comprehensive and detailed reference volume. The Atlas also displays current and historical photographs to help connect readers with actual features described by the maps. Public Awareness In Contra Costa County, 1,350 miles of creeks weave through 465,000 acres of watershed land. The County is also home to over 948,000 people. The county has grown by 150,000 people in each of the past two decades and urbanization is impacting the upland hydrologic system. However, a 2002 survey by the Contra Costa Resource Conservation .District of creekside residents in one watershed revealed that only 25%of respondents were aware of their proximity to their backyard creek. It was apparent that there was a need to find a coordinated way to raise public awareness of the surrounding natural environment. The Atlas is an education tool that can help people explicitly locate The Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas Contra Costa County,CA their residence and local creek, identify local resources, and understand basic hydrologic concepts in relation to their environment. Coordination of Conservation and Restoration Coordination of education, restoration, mitigation and conservation projects throughout the region is difficult. The Atlas provides a list as well as a map of current and on-going projects(from creek clean- up events to creek bank stabilization projects). The funding status of each project is also listed. This restoration projects is a tool for strengthening partnerships through collaborativecoordinated restoration efforts. 3) Description of the Program The Contra Costa Watershed Forum (CCWF) is an outgrowth of the first countywide Creek and Watershed Symposium held in 1999. The Forum is an open committee, staffed by the County, of some fifty organizations including federal, state, and local agencies; local governments, professional watershed research organizations; local non-profit environmental and education organizations; community volunteer groups, and private citizens. This diverse group of stakeholders is united by their concern for the watersheds of Contra Costa County. The work of CCWF participants is premised on the notion that actions in a watershed are inter-related and, therefore, an informed public, broad participation and cooperation are needed to protect our natural resources. The members of the CCWF work together to find common approaches to keeping our water resources healthy, functional, attracting and safe community assets. The full Watershed Forum meets every other month and various working committees meet regularly as well. The Forum has spearheaded a number of innovative Creek and Watershed programs that work to educate the public, coordinate watershed restoration activities, and monitor local creek conditions. In November 2003, the Forum hosted the 2"d Creek and Watershed Symposium titled: Progress, Opportunities and Challenges in the Watersheds of Contra Costa County. In preparation for'the Symposium, members of the Watershed Forum combined forces to create a public' education, reference resource, and outreach document: The Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas (Atlas). The Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas (Atlas) is a large format, full color, 150-page book of maps, statistics and text about the 28 major watersheds in the County. Though focused on the state of natural ecosystems on the watershed scale,the Atlas also provides information about the human community and the county as and eco-region. The first chapter provides an overview of the county including statistical data, ',text, and base maps. Additionally, the Atlas includes the complete CCWF Creek and Wetland Enhancement Project' Database, samples of GPS data collected by community groups on creeks, as well as resources and volunteer opportunities for people looking to become more involved locally. Maps provided at a countywide scale include: watersheds, creeks, political boundaries (cities, spheres of influence and unincorporated communities), planned land use, demographic data, topography, hydrology, earthquake fault lines, flood plains, soils, aspect, slope, vegetative cover, temperature, rainfall, impervious surface, historical and current steelhead trout populations and color aerial photographs. Page 2 The Contra Costa County watershed Atlas Contra Costa County,CA Subsequent chapters focus on individual watersheds and include text, lists of resources and active community groups, statistical data and maps including: aerial photographs, creeks, watersheds, political boundaries, population density, planned landuse, protected lands and restoration projects. The Atlas was the catalyst for these groups to collaborate to create a resource for education and outreach, resource restoration coordination, and data centralization. This 'project demanded that organizations, agencies and volunteers come together to centralize, create, and share GIS data; consolidate databases; and contribute text and photographs. These efforts ,were realized at many different levels, each representing important developments in the outreach and cooperation necessary for effective watershed management. o Strong community volunteer groups surveyed miles of creeks using a Global Positioning System (GPS)data collection program launched by the CCWF; a Governmental, regulatory, and local agencies fostered relationships to share Geographic Information System (GIS)data; and o Restoration project databases were consolidated to provide a vision of activities in the County. The Atlas was presented at the November 2003 Symposium, and sold out within a week. A second printing was completed in January 2004. The Atlas has already demonstrated its utility as community groups have reported that they have been contacted to assist with identifying mitigation projects, county planners use the Atlas in advising projects; and environmental education programs have integrated the Atlas into their curriculum. [An entire Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas is submitted with this application. Two pages from the Atlas (reduced to fit on 8.5 x I I pages) are attached to this application.] 4)Use of Technology In addition to current office technology, the completion the Watershed Atlas required intensive use of cartographic, GIS data manipulation and publication layout software. All technical work was completed in-house: from the creation of new map layers and collection of GPS data to cartography, document design and layout. This program employed the following software/technology: Geographic Information System(GIS): ArcGIS and affiliated software applications Global Positioning Systems(GPS): Trimble GPS Units running Pathfinder Office software Book Layout: Adobe InDesign 2.0 software 5)Cost of the Program The development of the Watershed Atlas was funded in part by a CALFED grant and a Prop 13 State Water Resources Quality Control Board grant. Additional funds were provided' by the Contra Costa Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund, the Contra Costa County GIS Policy Committee, the Contra Costa' County Community Development Department, and the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. .Money from the sale of the Atlas helped pay for some of the printing costs. Staff time: $80,000 - Paid for by the above-mentioned grants. This included public outreach and involvement, program development, book layout, GIS data synthesis, cartography; development of data charts and other graphics and text. Page 3 The Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas Contra Costa County,CA Printing: $45,000 - Each Atlas costs approximately $75 to print. The;price to the public was heavily subsidized by grants. The first printing sold for $15 a copy. Not as much grant money was awarded for the second printing, and the Atlas is made available to the public for $25. Digital copies on DVD will be available later this year for$5. To date we have printed 600 copies,'ofthe Atlas. Volunteer hours: More than 1,000 hours of volunteer time - Community members, staff at the county and other local organizations volunteered time. Tasks included: training volunteers in evenings and weekend field work mapping creeks using GPS units, proof-reading map data layers, extensive meetings and interim review to guide development of Atlas. 6)Results/Success of the Program In the two months the Atlas had been in circulation, it has proven its utility as community groups have reported that they have been contacted to assist with identifying mitigation projects, county planners use the Atlas in advising projects, and environmental education programs have integrated the Atlas into their curriculum. Some examples are provided below. Demand for Copies of the Atlas The Atlas was presented at the November 2003 Creek and Watershed Symposium. Within a week, the first printing of 300 copies sold out. A second printing was completed in January 2004 with over 150 copies pre-ordered by county agencies, non-profits, schools, community groups, regulatory agencies, consultants,and landscape architects. Resource for Public Education The Atlas takes a variety of complex concepts and detailed data and makes it accessible to people by presenting it as useable information. County Supervisor Gayle Ulkema commented "Oftentimes books and resources like this that are interesting and have valuable data are not attractive. You have to plow through the data in order to get to something that is really meaningful and it requires really a dedication �to do research. In this case, you have overcome that hurdle ... this is the kind of beautiful illustration, [holds up the Atlas] that really makes you want to look and wants you to study. It's readable and so therefore I don't think that the challenge of overcoming a research phobia is necessarily going to be present with the readers of these documents. Local newspapers have already used the Atlas to assist with public understanding;of creeks, watersheds' and fish. On January 11, 2004, the Contra Costa Times ran a story about the 'resurgence of salmon returning to Walnut Creek. The article cited data and provided a map (modified to be more appropriate; for a newspaper printing)from the Watershed Atlas. Environmental Education in Schools The Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas has been integrated into a youth environmental education program: Life Garden's City Creeks Program: Botany, Ecology, and Watershed Management. This program is designed to help youth understand the connection between what they do at home and the health of the natural world. It is active in Central County Intermediate Schools and plans to expand. The Atlas is as a resource and reference for teachers and students. Environmental Restoration Coordination Page 4 The Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas Contra Costa County,CA By providing a resource for groups that work in the county, the Atlas empowers groups to coordinate mitigation, restoration and conservation efforts. The community was quick to take advantage of the resource and connections have already been made in the Pinole Creek Watershed. Writes Nicholle Fratus, Program Coordinator, Friends of Pinole Creek: `°I also want to thank you for doing such a fantastic job on the atlas. It is a wonderful resource. Good has already come from it. Friends of Pinole Creek Watershed has been contacted by a consulting firm that is looking for a suitable location on Pinole Creek for a mitigation project). They want to assist or team with us to do a linear restoration on Pinole Creek. This is an exciting opportunity for us. They founts out about us from the Atlas!!" Tool for Planning Professionals Resources managers, land use planners, and others actively working in Contra Costa County have a new tool to assist them in talking about, locating, and understanding the regional implications of various land use decisions. County Supervisor John Gioia commented "Once we realize what we have, we are better able protect it and we are better able to snake sound decisions on land use and l planning. I think this (Atlas) is going to be a very valuable tool for land use issues in Contra Costa." 7)Worthiness of an Award The "Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas" is not simply a placeholder on a bookshelf. It is a practical and powerful resource for the public as well as policy makers, community groins and water resources professionals. The project engaged local stakeholders and generated the momentum to continue work on creek and watershed issues. The Atlas represents the committed and coordinated efforts from all the community, non-profits and local governments. Effective and meaningful 'partnerships between stakeholders were developed through this process. For the meaningful collaboration fostered by its creation, as well as the powerful resource created, the "Contra Costa County Watershed Atlas"' warrants the National Association of Counties Achievement' Award for Civic Education and Public Information. Page 5 x as r, R yp � S[ 30011 P a b Q �y QQp a�w S xr �5^ Y" Y 4 cax. x . tlJ m n c a m o vA. 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