Whole Person Care Pilot Program

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The Point in Time Count of 2017 found nearly 5,000 people struggling with homelessness in Orange County, California. The County of Orange, California applied for and was awarded a grant from the State of California’s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to implement the Whole Person Care (WPC) pilot program. The County of Orange’s WPC program focuses on Medi-Cal beneficiaries struggling with homelessness, and was fully implemented on July 1, 2017. The overall WPC objectives are: • Reduction of unnecessary/inappropriate ER visits • Reduction of inpatient utilization • Increase in the number of persons receiving medical case management from the County’s Managed Care Plan, CalOptima, via the coordinated care plan • Increase in Primary Care Provider visits and medication compliance • Increase in the number of successful housing placements The approach in developing the County of Orange’s WPC program is to more effectively connect existing programs and resources for the target population and fill gaps not currently being met. For WPC participating providers, this means improved communication, collaboration, and implementation of data sharing and coordinated care plans. For beneficiaries, the WPC program added recuperative care, additional hospital/clinic-based navigation/coordination services, additional supportive and linkage services, and dedicated housing navigation and housing sustainability services, including peer support.