HEALTH PRIORITY 4
ACCESS TO SERVICES
Respondents identified convenience of appointment timing as a barrier to accessing healthcare.
A barrier of care for respondents is cost.
Somerset County respondents agreed that the community has transportation services available for seniors and those with disabilities.
OVERVIEW
Access to healthcare services is important for promoting and maintaining health, preventing and managing disease, and reducing the chance of premature death. While many focus group members and interviewees reported that Somerset County has high quality and extensive healthcare assets, accessing these can be challenging for some residents. Barriers identified include lack of insurance/ insurance challenges, high healthcare costs, scheduling convenience, wait times, provider availability for new patients, transportation, discrimination, and language barriers. Additionally noted as a barrier are the lack of information around social services in their communities as well as difficulty understanding how social sector programs work—including eligibility requirements and how to apply.
For this priority, Access to Services is defined as a broad range of services, including but not limited to: preventive health and wellness, medical, housing assistance, food assistance, employment assistance, and other social services.
HOW WE’RE GETTING THERE
GOAL
Ensure residents have access to affordable, equitable, and high-quality services where they are treated with dignity and respect in order to improve their health and enable them to thrive in the communities they call home.
OBJECTIVES
4.1: By December 2024, increase the number of patients by who use medical navigation services.
4.2: By December 2024, improve the county-wide resource, navigation, and referral systems for the full range of health and social services available in the county, especially for non-English speakers and seniors.
4.3: By December 2024, decrease the number of residents experiencing transportation challenges when accessing health and social services.
4.4: By December 2024, increase the number of residents who can access health and social services within their community.
- Conduct tailored marketing/outreach to all sectors in the community (e.g., residents, organizations, businesses) to increase awareness of current navigation services.
- Work with hospital departments (e.g., the emergency department (ED)) to increase awareness among staff about current medical navigation services so they are more likely to refer patients in need.
- Develop a broad, outcomes-based educational campaign to increase the use of medical navigation services.
- Inventory current resource guides and referral services that are available and identify gaps.
- Identify best practices of successful resource/referral programs and navigation services that could be implemented in in Somerset County; explore triage models from other systems.
- Develop and implement trainings for health and social services professionals to enable cross-referrals of residents to needed services.
- Develop a marketing and dissemination plan tailored to specific populations that highlights available services (e.g., local media, place-based settings such as bodegas and barber shops, disability & literacy service providers).
- Increase signage in multiple languages about transportation routes and options.
- Increase communication channels (e.g., building mobile apps or mobile texting) in multiple languages about transportation routes and options.
- Develop a coalition-supported, outcomes-based campaign to educate the community on transportation options and availability.
- Increase awareness of health and social service staff on the importance of sharing information about the best ways for clients to access their services, including transportation options and routes.
- Pool public health resources to acquire and implement a mobile van that works across municipalities to provide child wellness check-ups, vaccines, and prenatal care within municipalities
- Develop medical hubs that provide expanded services within underserved communities.
- Expand evening and weekend hours for medical and social services in the community.
- Increase telehealth access via education/device availability.
- Expand the capacity of medical and social services to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care (e.g., utilizing community navigators).
- Expand promotion of Get Covered New Jersey, CHIP, and Medicaid to help people acquire health insurance coverage.
