Strategic Alliances & Community Partnerships

WSHC values partnerships and relationships and can attribute some of our achievements to the effectiveness of our collaborations. As a leader in addressing the health disparities of minority and immigrant populations in the heart of low-income Boston, the health center tries in every way to make the health and well-being of our patients our top priority.

-Boston Medical Center – We have a longstanding partnership with BMC. About 85% of our patients in need of specialty care are referred to BMC. With approximately 800 discharges from BMC annually, BMC and WSHC collaborate on care plans for High-Risk patients, deliver patient-centered care, improve health outcomes, and reduce care costs.

– Brigham & Women’s Hospital – BWH provides our in-patient OBGYN care. WSHC coordinates with BWH on ER and inpatient discharges. The hospital also has liaisons who redirect patients from their ER to WSHC’s Same Day Clinics, as appropriate.

– Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) — we have a unique and innovative partnership with DFCI to address the cancer disparities in minority and low income communities. The program includes community-based medical oncology consultations in the Cancer Care Center located in our building, screenings, diagnosis, a Mammography Suite, Oral Health Cancer program, Lung Cancer and Smoking Cessation, Genetics Testing, and survivorship programs at Whittier. In addition, DFCI provides mobile mammography services at our satellite clinic site in the Quincy Commons area of Roxbury, and patient navigation and treatment on the DFCI campus. This provides our patients with seamless access to care at a world renowned Cancer Institute.

– Steward Health Care Network: MassHealth (Medicaid) has implemented the value-based/ACO model of reimbursement in Massachusetts. Whittier recently submitted an application to participate in the MassHealth ACO model in partnership with the Steward Health Care Network ACO. This partnership will also include participating in Steward’s Risk Based contracts for other payers.

– Mass College of Pharmacy and Health Services University (MCPHS): Through a partnership established in 2014, a Clinical Pharmacist from MCPHS provides our High-Risk patients with medication management, and other medication safety-related services. The HRN and Clinical Pharmacist encourage patients to use the extended hours of WSHC’s Same-Day services instead of emergency rooms.

– Boston Public Housing Tenants Associations –  Tenant associations help us identify and recruit Health Ambassadors who champion wellness in their communities and connect patients to WSHC services.

WSHC has successfully expanded access to care for public housing residents with three key health care initiatives:

• Health Resource Services Administration, Boston Public Health Commission and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Whittier has several strategic partnerships with the city and state departments of health.
• Public Housing Men’s Health Initiative: Addresses the daunting health disparities affecting men of color who suffer disproportionately from debilitating, life-threatening health conditions.
• Public Housing Geriatric Health Initiative: Addresses health disparities impacting seniors (ages 65 and older) of color.
• Public Housing Pediatric Initiative: Provides education, prevention and treatment to address the growing rate of overweight and obesity, diabetes and asthma disproportionately impacting children in poor and minority communities.

– Azara Healthcare/DRVS: provides WSHC with reporting and analytics that enables providers and administrators to access clinical quality, population health and patient information. Reports include:

• Population health & chronic disease management
• Care planning
• Regulatory compliance (UDS, Meaningful Use, and PCMH)
• Financial & operational improvement
• Risk, cost and transitions of care monitoring
• User-driven, ad-hoc analysis, dashboards and data graphics
• Patient’s risk level

– Madison Park High School  – We have an internship program for students at the Madison Park High School. These internships create job opportunities for low-income residents and create a hiring pipeline for us.

– Roxbury Community College  – We have a clinical rotation for nursing and allied sciences students at the Roxbury Community College. These clinical rotations provide job experience in community healthcare, creates job opportunities for low-income residents and creates a hiring recruitment pipeline for us.

– Boston Adult Technical Academy (BATA) – Whittier partners with BATA to improve the delivery of prevention, screening, counseling, and referral for Sexually Transmitted Diseases, viral hepatitis, and tuberculosis. We also collaborate on health promotion, education and prevention activities, and link BATA students to medical and social support services at Whittier

– Women, Infants and Children’s Nutrition Program (WIC) – WIC provides Whittier patients with on-site food, nutrition counseling at our main clinic and satellite at Quincy Commons.

As part of the Center for Disease Control HIV Prevention project, WSHC has worked closely with:

– Black and Hispanic Gay Coalition, which offers HIV Public Opinion Leader groups, leadership programming for youth and adults, community engagement and increased access to HIV intervention and prevention services for LGBTQ Black and Latino patients

– Justice Resource Institute and Boston Glass Community Drop In Center advise Whittier on outreach activities to reach MSM minority youth, provide cultural competence training for Whittier staff in serving Black and Hispanic MSM and transgender youth living with/at risk for HIV/AIDS.

– Multi-Cultural AIDS Coalition provides cultural competence training on Black and Hispanic MSM and transgender M-t-F, conducts targeted venue outreach, and provide venues for HIV counseling and testing in non-clinical settings.

Collaborations with Madison Park Community Development Corporation’s (MPCDC) our community violence response team and senior program teams have strong relationships with BPHC, BPD and BYCF, and development housing managers. MPCDC has an existing system for notification from first responders and community members in the catchment area of Dudley Square, immediate real-time event notification occurs via text message, email and phone. Following the receipt of a violence incident report, MPCDC collaborates with Behavioral Health to coordinate an appropriate action response and plan for outreach.