Waynesburg, PA – On November 1, 2022, Blueprints, a community action agency, hosted a summit in Waynesburg, PA, to address the social determinants of health, otherwise known as SDoH. Social determinants of health are the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes.
Blueprints, formerly known as Community Action Southwest, is a non-profit organization that serves 20,000 residents in Greene County, Washington County, and West Virginia. Their 50 programs act as catalysts to help mobilize the resources of the community, enabling families and individuals to attain the skills, knowledge, motivations, and opportunities to become self-sufficient.
The well-attended and engaging event was co-sponsored by Community Care Behavioral Health through the Community Based Care Management, or CBCM program. The agenda included an overview of the CBCM program which was presented by Community Care. The summit also included an overview of value-based purchasing, or VBP. In VBP, provider payments are linked to improved performance by health care providers. This form of payment holds health care providers accountable for both the cost and quality of care they provide. It also attempts to reduce inappropriate care and to identify and reward the best-performing providers. That portion of the agenda was presented by Lacey Wallace who is the Quality Projects Manager for the Behavioral Health Alliance of Rural Pennsylvania, otherwise known as BHARP.
Also included in the day’s agenda was a guided group discussion on the challenges of and the solutions and resources needed to address each of the eight social determinates of health as identified by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services. Those determinates are childcare, food insecurity, clothing, employment, financial strain, transportation, utilities, and housing. One of the goals was to develop a shared vision for Greene County to help address these issues. Additionally, it is hoped that the summit can become a model that could be replicated across the state to both engage and mobilize community resources to address these social determinants.
For more information about Blueprints in Waynesburg, please visit:
https://myblueprints.org/locations/listing/blueprints-waynesburg-field-office
Photo Description:
Lacey Wallace of BHARP presenting at the Greene County Summit
Photo credit: BHARP