17,946 Miles Driven: Celebrating ACH Program Manager, Justin Botejue's One Year with BHT

1. What does your role as ACH Project Manager entail?

A little bit of everything – I see the role I play as an assister to realizing and implementing the vision and goals of our partners within the BHT ACH. This can look like anything from staffing rural county health coalitions to seeking input from the community (both the provider and the recipient of services) for our ongoing strategy maps on the Social Determinants of Health and Population Health. The role also provides staff support to the BHT Executive Director and Associate Directors which includes data and policy research, project support for the Pathfinder Hub and continued community engagement.

2. You have driven 17,946 miles since starting at BHT in August of 2016. What do those miles driven show in respects to your job and how does community engagement fit into the effectiveness of your role?

Yes, I’ve driven almost 18,000 miles within one year of working for BHT! It’s not really about how many miles I’ve driven, but more about the time I get to spend with partners around our region. Relationships are built better face-to-face and I can say that whenever I go and meet with partners, I come in with an understanding that we’re friends and I’m here to help however I can. I always offer a carpool to those based out of Spokane and when you’re in the car for a couple of hours, you tend to partake in good conversation (and hopefully it’s not just work related). I’m grateful that BHT actually encourages us to do face to face meetings and I consider myself lucky that I get to see the sheer beauty and ruggedness of Eastern Washington that I wouldn’t otherwise see!

3. What is one thing that you have learned while out in the community that has been valuable to you or a game changer in how you fulfill your role as BHT’s ACH Project Manager?

A game-changing pearl of wisdom I’ve learned over the past year is “framing the narrative”. Let’s face it, change and learning new lingo (virtually a new language) related to healthcare is difficult and the early morning phone calls and long meetings can be tiring, but set in the context of transforming lives for the better gives me new energy and drive to keep on pushing. Healthcare transformation is real and imminent especially when the narrative is framed toward meaningful impact on silo-ed systems, efficient distribution of resources, and most of all – an improved quality of life for our community.

4. What has been a major highlight in your one year at BHT?

Uh, all of it? Working for BHT through the Accountable Community of Health has been a fascinating experience! Doing healthcare transformation in this way is new and different and we are all learning together. 

In pursuit of radically improving the health of our region.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King Jr.

In the wake of the tragic events in Charlottesville this past week, we believe that hate and racism has no place in America, in Eastern WA, or in any healthy community.  It is in these key moments that all of us, whether individuals or organizations, need to express our values.  So that our neighbors and partners and children do not interpret our silence as agreement with those who act on hate. 

While we may not have any Confederate monuments to tear down, our community is sadly not immune to hateful action.   In the past year, Spokane headlines have included racist vandalism scrawled on the Martin Luther King childcare center, desecrating a Sikh temple being mistaken for Muslim, anti-Semitic and racist flyers posted multiple times on the Community Building, hateful words of “Get out!” spray painted on the garage of a refugee family, and hateful graffiti on the Salish School.  While the community and leadership have come together in support in each incident, we all go back to our busy lives the next day.  Never stopping to notice that what used to be a once a year headline is now nearly monthly - are hate crimes now normal in our community?

As non-profits with health missions, we believe that advancing healthy communities means advancing equity.  At our leadership team meeting this week, we asked the question:  it’s not if but when the next tragic incident happens either nationally or locally, and will we sit back and wait for it, or will we be proactive and do something to advance equity?  And if we are proactive, what does that mean? We didn’t come up with any answers that made us feel like we had the right answer, but a deep commitment to take action. What are your thoughts?  We would love to hear from you.

Better Health Together selected to manage in-person assistance for Eastern Washington

The Washington Health Benefit Exchange today announced the selection of Better Health Together to oversee in-person assistance provided to residents of Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams and Whitman Counties during the upcoming open enrollment period scheduled to begin on Nov. 1.

Better Health Together is one of nine public health agencies, regional health networks, and community organizations selected to provide free support to individuals and families signing up for coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder and one of two in the state with an active storefront.

“Given the uncertainty currently surrounding healthcare, the support and communication Better Health Together and all other lead organizations provide is especially essential,” said Pam MacEwan, CEO of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. “Their outreach and education efforts offer reliable assistance at a time when many residents may have questions about their coverage.”

Better Health Together is responsible for building and managing a network of navigators who are available to guide individuals and families through the enrollment process, determine how well their current health plans worked, and explore new coverage options.

During the previous open enrollment period, more than 225,000 Washingtonians utilized resources provided by Better Health Together and other lead organizations located across the state to enroll in health coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder.

“Being selected has given us the ability to provide this service and stability to the community twelve months a year in our new enrollment center, instead of what used to be three months,” said Curt Fackler, Navigator Program Manager of Better Health Together.

Better Health Together’s Navigator Network launched in 2013 with the goal of enrolling 10,000 people in health insurance through Washington Healthplanfinder. Today, Better Health Together’s Navigator Network has enrolled and re-enrolled over 100,000 people, dropping the uninsured rate to less than 5% in the region.

HCA seeks input on VBP

The Health Care Authority released their value-based payment survey in July. This will be used to establish a baseline for VBP adoption and will serve as a critical progress tracking mechanism as we move towards the goal of 90% of all Medicaid contracts being value based. We care about this because as the state meets CMS goals, we earn waiver dollars. (And we are a region of high achievers.) To complete the survey, click here.
 
The VBP survey was developed with advice from HCA’s Medicaid Value-based Payment (MVP) Action Team, whose members represent a variety of provider organizations, Accountable Communities of Health, and Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) from around the state. Our representative Mark Wakai, Chief Population Health Officer from Providence Health Care will be providing an update at the ACH Leadership Council in September. To make it fair, HCA also released a similar version of the survey to MCOs in June. The survey is open until August 25. To learn more, visit https://www.hca.wa.gov/about-hca/healthier-washington/paying-value. 

Washington State Diabetes Connection’s Website Gets New Look

The Washington State Diabetes Connection’s website is new, improved and better than ever. Besides having a new look, the site will allow its users to see what’s new with the organization as well as view upcoming events with greater ease than before. We’d like to send a huge thank you to the Washington State Diabetes Connection as well as all supporters addressing diabetes in our state! Check out their new website at https://diabetes.doh.wa.gov.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers Meets with BHT

This past week Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers came to Eastern Washington to listen to and meet with people from the community. Last Friday, April 14, Rep. McMorris Rodgers met up with the Better Health Together Board to discuss their work on transformative Medicaid programs in Washington state. The Congresswoman is focused on how to create a 21st Century health care system that will provide quality and affordable health care to all Americans.

More information on her visit: https://mcmorris.house.gov/recap-mcmorris-rodgers-friday-spokane/

Jail Transitions Project Gains Traction

Better Health Together recently launched a new program in Ferry county called the Jail Transitions Project. The jail transitions project connects people exiting the county jail with local care workers and providers. The program has successfully been piloted in Ferry County, and Better Health Together plans to expand the program to more counties in Eastern Washington, including Spokane County.