W.M. Keck Foundation Grant Supports Hiring Additional Valley Community Healthcare Staff to Improve Patient Access to Care

Valley Community Healthcare (VCH) a Federally Qualified Health Center serving nearly 25,000 San Fernando Valley residents, strives to address the increasing demand for efficient, cost-effective, high-quality patient care, while meeting the challenges of a competitive market for primary care physicians. The $300,000 W. M. Keck Foundation award supports the hiring of two bilingual, registered nurses (RN) as case managers to independently assess, triage, and manage patients’ needs, including medication refills and integrated care coordination. This newly-introduced “Alternate Touch” program enables physicians to attend to patients requiring a higher level of care.

VCH’s program expands the utilization of nurses’ clinical skills, and maximizes their licensed scope of practice. Through the Alternative Touch program VCH projects that over a two-year period, the Keck Foundation grant will enable registered nursing staff to triage 770 patient assignments, and Care Teams to consult and treat 900 patients annually. The resulting patient centered practice positions VCH for anticipated changes in insurance policies whereby reimbursement that will be based on improved patient wellness and health outcomes.