Press Release
February 24, 2021
Wilmington, North Carolina – Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear (CCLCF) has joined Cape Fear HealthNet (CFHN) in managing their member’s chronic conditions and navigating different areas of the health system. Cape Fear HealthNet was awarded a generous grant from The Leon Levine Foundation, bringing CCLCF’s care coordination in to support specialty referral follow-up.
CFHN and CCLCF recognized a need to increase referral appointment compliance and help patients understand the importance of when to use their primary care provider, a health clinic, and the Emergency Department. Specialists providing pro bono services to CFHN members would often have trouble engaging patients to follow through with much needed health care services or have patients miss appointments. Grant funding will allow a CCLCF Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to provide care coordination services, working with specific members to educate them on the importance of adhering to specialty appointments and taking advantage of the services being offered. The LPN will also ensure that members receive their medications, understand treatment plans, go to any follow-up appointments, and have resources that can reduce barriers to their overall health. Barriers can include what is commonly referred to as social determinants of health including food insecurity, housing issues, transportation issues, and concerns with interpersonal violence and toxic stress. The CCLCF LPN will address these barriers and link the member to a resource that can help.
The goal is to reduce Emergency Department visits for non-emergency needs and to increase compliance with specialty appointments. This will, in turn, support CFHN’s overall mission, ensuring that low-income residents have access to a medical home, receive preventive services, and avoid unnecessary health complications resulting in a better, healthier quality of life. “We are excited to partner with Cape Fear HealthNet on this endeavor,” says Angela Ives, CCLCF Executive Director. “Our Care Teams have tremendous success reducing Emergency Department utilization and impacting the whole health of a patient.”
About Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear (CCLCF)
Community Care of the Lower Cape Fear (CCLCF) is a 501(c) (3) that improves health outcomes for 90,000+ public and privately-insured enrollees in New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick, Columbus, Onslow and Bladen counties. CCLCF has a regional population health partnership with over 550 primary care providers, 7 hospitals, local health departments, social service agencies, Behavioral Health, Managed Care Organization\’s (MCO\’s) and other community-based organizations. We are a National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accredited organization. To learn more, visit www.carelcf.org.