The five-year Whole Person Care (WPC) initiative began its second year of implementation on January 1. The pilot is aimed at improving the access, quality of care and efficiency of services delivered to those individuals with the most complex and often co-occurring conditions.

WPC provides funding for the enhancement and continuation of Health System redesign. It seeks to empower staff to provide services relevant to the whole person including mental health, substance use, primary care and social services. WPC augments existing programs to enhance service capacity and funds additional staff to extend services.

Capacity Building

WPC has built the capacity of numerous programs in its first year. San Mateo Medical Center has added 10 Medical Services Assistants and 4 Social Workers.

Integrated Medication-Assisted Treatment has been fully funded and will expand to include services to those with opiate addiction in 2018.

The Bridges to Wellness team is fully staffed with 14 care navigators, 2 social workers, a nurse practitioner and an registered nurse who will triage WPC clients into the right service. Correctional Health has added capacity to assist WPC clients to receive health care while incarcerated, and to assist them with re-entry.

As of January 1, 2018,  BHRS began contracting with Heart & Soul, Voice of Recovery, California Clubhouse and National Alliance for Mental Illness to provide the HOPE program which will utilize peer mentors and family partners to support individuals transitioning from locked facilities to the community. The program will also provide support to the family members of those transitioning out of locked settings.

The WPC administrative hub, within Public Health, Policy and Planning, is now fully staffed and actively working on strategies which encourage system integration and care coordination. These efforts include data sharing and analytics, quality improvement activities, fiscal management and policy development. We will soon be sending out frequently asked questions to better explain how the pilot works.

In addition, the hub is sponsoring a Day of Partnering on February 9 to learn from staff across the department, and their innovative strategies for working across divisions to ensure clients receive the care that they need.

Questions? Reach out to the hub at 650-573-4708.