Our York County Board of Commissioners heard from the community and generously set aside American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for the implementation of a community-based care network. With their assistance to get the project underway. our journey began.
We started this work with a conversation of 120+ concerned community members. Our first charge was to find new ways to improve health and well-being in York County. To move this work beyond a conversation, we created a workgroup, a learning team and an advisory committee.
We also listened to the voices of our York County community members, as they shared their personal experiences and recommendations for improvement. This feedback helped to shape our conversations and work going forward.
Our path led us to four potential areas of system improvement:
- Standardized Information Sharing
- Shared Funding and Resources
- Tailored and Empowered Approach
- Aligning Helping Organizations
Knowing that we had to prioritize our efforts, our York County collaborative landed on the focus of “Standardized Information Sharing”. Our Advisory Committee agreed with this approach and we set out to further structure ourselves for additional work.
Two diverse workgroups were created :
- Bi-Directional Referrals and Shared Intake Committee (led by Natalie Williams)
- Universal Release of Information Committee (led by April Billet)
These workgroups met on a regular basis to determine best practices for an enhanced customer experience. They also looked at the required processes through the lens of the organizations that provide services (while also thinking about the technology that we will need to use).
This work led us to the introduction of this website (connectyork.org) with new collaborative processes and we are excited! With the support of our community members, community based organizations, health systems and other partners, we are well on our way to improving health and well-being in York County.
We now have:
- A website for all York County community members to find assistance, support and information 24/7
- A York County, PA tool to share Bi-Directional Referrals
- A shared intake process and sharing of key data amongst community based organizations willing to collaborate further
- A universal release form that can be used throughout York County
- Community organizations working better together to improve the client experience