Washington Square Health Foundation provided support to Alexian Brothers Bonaventure House and homeless clients served are benefiting from a robust quality assurance department that works to ensure improved health outcomes.
Recognized as a regional leader in providing innovative housing for adults living with HIV and other chronic disease, ABHHA provides stable housing and supportive services to more than 320 homeless adults living with HIV and coping with substance use and often, mental illness. The agency accomplishes this through a continuum of supportive housing that includes two transitional housing projects, one site-based permanent supportive housing program in the underserved South Chicago neighborhood, and 160 units of scattered site housing in Chicago and Lake County.
Support from WSHF enabled the agency to hire a Data Analyst who has helped the agency improve its capacity to deliver value-based care. This new staff member joins a director of quality assurance and a data coordinator. The data analyst is charged with not only analyzing data, but also training 27 clinicians who record and analyze client data in a comprehensive client tracking system that records client progress notes, goals, clinical outcomes, referrals and other significant data integral to client well-being. As a result, case managers are able to deliver better care: For example, they will be able to intervene when a client has missed several medical appointments, has experienced a decline in income, or is at risk for losing Medicaid coverage.
Because clients are struggling with multiple, complex challenges including history of substance use, mental illness, living with HIV or other chronic conditions and history of trauma, the ability to accurately track client outcomes is critical to maintaining stable housing and improved health outcomes.
An added benefit is that improved quality assurance has resulted in increased Medicaid billing and more revenue for the agency.
Funding from WSHF has proven very timely: this past year, ABHHA has increased its scattered site units by 28 percent, adding 30 units in Chicago and 15 in Lake County.
