Improving Care Coordination and Service Linkages to Support Healthy Child Development: Early Lessons and Recommendations from a Five-State Consortium
This report summarizes early findings from the current Assuring Better Child Health and Development (ABCD III) learning collaborative of five states. Arkansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Oregon are testing models to strengthen linkages and care coordination between pediatric primary care providers and community-based providers of early intervention, mental health, public health, and early care and education services. The states’ early experiences piloting communication tools, facilitating data sharing, implementing quality improvement processes, and involving families are relevant for efforts to engage multi-sector stakeholders to improve state policy, primary care practice, and population health.
| improving.care_.support.healthy.child_.development.pdf | 532.6 KB |
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
