Last week, I had the privilege of representing CeltiCare as we donated a second 12-passenger van to the Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury.  As many of you know Whittier has provided comprehensive health services to the community for more than 75 years and currently serves over 18,500 patients.  We first donated a van to Whittier in April 2010 and now both vans will be used to provide transportation services to patients who need assistance getting to Whittier as well as to specialty appointments at various hospitals and clinics across Boston and surrounding communities.  The van will also play a critical role in the health center’s outreach to the community through public events for health, wellness, and education.

As a Member Connections Representative, I regularly work with the patients and staff at Whittier as well as attend community meetings on site.  Together we discuss various health topics and effective ways to bring health awareness and education to the communities we serve.  In addition, we participate in different community events throughout the year to connect with those who need assistance in accessing health insurance and health care, and taking the steps to lead healthier lives.  Our members, Whittier patients, and I know that these vans will help them access the care they need.   

For the past 2 years, all of us at CeltiCare have been fortunate to see first-hand the amazing work of Frederica and her team at Whittier and we know that Whittier and the other health centers in our city and region are essential to helping patients access the high quality care they need.  We are proud to support an important community resource such as Whittier and look forward to continuing our partnership with them and other community health centers in the future. 

 Written by Brenda Saunders, CeltiCare Member Connections representative

Photo Caption: Our very own Brenda Saunders a CeltiCare Member Connections representative who regularly works with Whittier and its patients, presented the van to Frederica Williams, President and CEO of Whittier Street Health Center, and John Reardon, Chief Financial Officer of Whittier Street Health Center. 

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July marks CeltiCare’s second anniversary serving the citizens of Massachusetts.  Some highlights from our second year include:

• Growing to over 34,000 members

• Ongoing development of a network that currently includes 32 acute care hospitals, community health centers in 78 locations, and over 2,300 primary care providers and 9,500 specialists across the state.

• Extension of contracts to serve Commonwealth Care Bridge Program and Commonwealth Choice Program members.

• Participation in the state’s Patient Centered Medical Home pilot.

• Excellent member satisfaction ratings.

Throughout our two years in the Massachusetts marketplace, we have strived each day to deliver excellent service to our members and make sure they are receiving the high quality care they need and deserve.  In addition, we have traveled the state and country to share our experiences and learn from others navigating today’s complicated health care industry.

We are grateful for another year of providing Massachusetts residents with access to high quality care and appreciate the trust that our members have placed in us.

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Last weekend our CEO Richard Lynch and I had the pleasure of participating in Whittier Street Health Center’s annual Men’s Health Summit held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College.  Rich was a recipient of the Whittier Street Health Champions Award which annually recognizes community leaders for their outstanding work in reducing health disparities for men. He was recognized for his exemplary leadership roles as the President and CEO of CeltiCare Health Plan as well as for serving as the Board Chairman of the Whittier Street Foundation since 2009.

I was pleased to be asked to speak about the day’s theme “A Healthier Me, A Stronger You” with a panel of colleagues all dedicated to improving access to Men’s Health Care.

The Summit  – which coincided with Men’s Health Month and National Men’s Health Week – provided general information on men’s health and the importance of preventive services and screenings that are especially meaningful to men, all with the goal of raising awareness and general understanding of men’s health.  During my panel discussion, which included providers, educators, and patients, much emphasis was placed on potential reasons why men are reluctant to seek health care services. The role that men play in society, their innate need to be a provider for their loved ones, the human nature component that tends to make their own health seem less important to them than their family members’ health, a feeling of immortality, and a fear of the unknown all were highlighted as barriers to achieving good health.

Many thoughtful solutions were discussed, both in regard to the support systems available within the community to help men maintain or achieve good health, as well as the internal thinking that men need to constantly remind themselves of.  Men were reminded that in order to keep from becoming too sick to care for their loved ones, they need to participate in annual medical screening exams by their health care providers. In addition, they were reminded that an entire generation of children looks up to them, and will copy their behaviors, so practicing healthy nutrition and exercise habits is critical to ensure the health of our communities.

At CeltiCare we offer a variety of programs and outreach plans that target the specific healthcare needs of our members, including preventive services and screenings for men. Eating well, regular exercise and getting plenty of sleep are important to maintain active healthy lives. In addition screening for the presence of treatable conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol help protect us from the longer term complications of such problems Getting an Annual Wellness Exam from your PCP is a great way to receive your screening tests, AND it can provide you with an additional deposit  into your CentAccount®.

For more information on men’s health visit the websites for Men’s Health Week and Men’s Health Month.

Robert LoNigro, MD, MS, Chief Medical Director, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts, Inc.

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Results released last week from the Massachusetts Health Connector indicate that an overwhelming majority – 84% – of Commonwealth Care members are satisfied with their coverage.  

Given our participation in the Commonwealth Care program, we were pleased to see these positive results and are not surprised as they are consistent with the feedback we receive from members on a regular basis and also with the findings of a survey we commissioned in early 2010. 

Since Oct 2009, CeltiCare has also managed the Commonwealth Care Bridge Program for Massachusetts’ legal immigrants and felt it was important to obtain independent feedback on members’ experience with regard to their transition to the program and patient care experiences.  We engaged Marttila Communications to complete the survey which reported a high level of satisfaction among those members contacted for both the healthcare and customer service they had received as a member of the Bridge program.  Of particular note, our dedicated and caring member service professionals that staff our call center received exemplary ratings, reinforcing to us that our efforts to communicate with our members and assist them in overcoming any hurdles they may face in getting the healthcare and coverage they need, works!

We appreciate the feedback we’ve received from members and recognize that while it has been mostly positive, there is always room for improvement.  To that end, from our senior management team and customer service representatives to our medical management teams, all of us at CeltiCare share a sincere commitment to provide exceptional member service and continued improvement.

We are proud to be part of the Massachusetts Health Connector’s programs and will continue to work with the Commonwealth to offer all Massachusetts residents additional options for access to high-quality care.  We regard the Bridge program as evidence that with collaboration among providers, state officials and a health plan, solutions to seemingly intractable problems can be found and implemented. 

To read more about the survey results visit the Health Connector, this Boston Globe article.

Kind Regards,

Richard Lynch

President & CEO, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts

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Last week Governor Patrick announced a comprehensive health care payment and delivery reform legislation designed to control rising health care costs and improve patient care.  It continues to be an interesting time for those of us working in the healthcare industry and the pending reform locally and nationally will certainly affect us all so if you are interested in additional information you can visit the Governor’s website.  To read and listen to media coverage visit WBUR and the Boston Globe article and editorial.

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A recent piece from the Boston Globe [http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2011/01/31/a_deadly_information_gap/] got us thinking about the importance of communication in healthcare.  Not just communication between patients and doctors but communication between all parties in the healthcare experience including patients, providers, doctors, nurses and health insurers and their members.  What struck us most in this article was that the author, who detailed the challenges around navigating the healthcare system on behalf of their ill parent, was a physician.  Which begs the question, if a physician has trouble advocating for care of a loved one, how can the rest of us do it? 

All of us at CeltiCare have been patients and many of us coordinate care for loved ones whether it is a child, parent or friend.  We know that challenges exist in the healthcare system and despite the sincere efforts of a lot of great people – providers, insurers, public officials, nurses, hospital administrators – there is still a need to improve the ways in which healthcare is accessed and delivered.  While some of the challenges remain out of our immediate control, at CeltiCare we have made a commitment to communicating with our members consistently and listening to their feedback so that we can find ways to improve their experience and assist them in accessing the care they need.  

The coming months will continue to bring changes to our healthcare system as public officials discuss, debate and advance healthcare reform on the local and national level.  More on that in future blog posts but for now it is our hope that this goal of continuously improving communications is one that stays at the forefront of our collective agenda.

Kind Regards,

Richard Lynch

President & CEO, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts

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In an ongoing effort to offer our members the most complete care available, CeltiCare reached out to our health care providers for assistance.  We asked providers to complete and send back a medical information form to us regarding the number of our members enrolled in one of the disease management programs.  For each form received, the provider was entered into a raffle to win an iPod Touch.

In December, CeltiCare’s Healthy Solutions for Life raffle winner of the iPod Touch is John C. Pedrotty, M.D. Dr. Pedrotty practices family medicine in Fall River, MA.

Congratulations John C. Pedrotty, M.D! Your dedication to patient care is greatly appreciated.

CeltiCare encourages healthy living, which includes disease management and preventive care. Our hope is that initiatives like this one which support our clinical programs will ultimately lead to and improved quality of care and health for our members. Thank you for all those that participated.

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CeltiCare is excited to welcome Cradles to Crayons to Brighton!  As some of you may know, Cradles to Crayons is a nonprofit organization that provides homeless and in-need children with the basic essentials they need to feel safe, warm, ready to learn and valued.  We have found Brighton to be a welcoming and giving community and know that Cradles to Crayons will have a similar experience.

The organization’s new headquarters, which made its official move to its 37,000 square foot location in Brighton on January 17^th, will allow the nonprofit to expand its Giving Factory where they sort the clothing and supplies that are donated by partners and individuals and then sorted and packaged by dedicated volunteers.  In 2010, Cradles to Crayons delivered 50,000 packages to children in Massachusetts and the organization hopes to double that number over the next three to five years in this new space.

Last year CeltiCare held a clothing and school supply drive for Cradles to Crayons.  Our generous employees donated winter coats that were then donated to children in need.  We will share additional details on future collections at CeltiCare headquarters in 2011, but if you are interested in additional information on Cradles to Crayons please visit their website at http://boston.cradlestocrayons.org/ or check them out on Twitter at http://twitter.com/c2cboston and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/c2cboston.

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In an ongoing effort to offer our members the most complete care available, CeltiCare reached out to our health care providers for assistance.  We asked providers to complete and send back a medical information form to us regarding the number of our members enrolled in one of the disease management programs.  For each form received, the provider was entered into a raffle to win an iPod Touch.

In November, CeltiCare’s Healthy Solutions for Life raffle winner of the iPod Touch is Marjorie Crabtree, NP. Ms. Crabtree practices at Mid-Upper Cape Community Health Center.

Congratulations Marjorie Crabtree! Your dedication to patient care is greatly appreciated.

CeltiCare encourages healthy living, which includes disease management and preventive care. Our hope is that initiatives like this one which support our clinical programs will ultimately lead to and improved quality of care and health for our members. Thank you for all those that participated.

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