The Orange County Project Receives Grant to
Reduce Health Care Costs and
Use of Emergency Medical Services

 Orange County, Calif., June 2, 2003 –The Orange County Project: Commitment to Integrated Health Care, a collaborative effort of physical and mental health providers and other social services agencies, has received a $100,000 grant to develop a comprehensive and integrated plan for assisting people who frequently use Orange County emergency health care services . The grant is a part of the Frequent Users of Health Services Initiative, a five-year, $10 million program aimed at creating a cost-effective, comprehensive, and coordinated health care delivery system to address the unique health and medical needs of chronically ill, uninsured Californians.  The California Endowment and the California HealthCare Foundation, two private, statewide health foundations, are funding the Initiative.

 Many “frequent users” of the health care system are the homeless, those suffering from substance abuse and addiction, the disabled, and the chronically and mentally ill who have serious health conditions. Many of their medical crises could be prevented with appropriate ongoing care, avoiding use of costly emergency rooms and hospital services. By creating better ways to provide care to this high-risk population, it may be possible to both improve their health status and lower medical costs. 

The Orange County Project is one of several demonstration projects that addresses new models of care for frequent users that have been funded throughout the state.  “The Orange County Project is designed to bring together all the stakeholders – the hospitals, the clinics, housing and mental health agencies – to collect information about the frequent users of emergency health care,” says Dr. Eugene Spiritus, senior medical director of UCI Medical Center, the lead agency in The Orange County Project.  “We plan to define this population and then analyze the information to determine what policies and procedures are needed to improve services, decrease use of emergency rooms and get frequent users the help they need.”

Funded projects are coalitions or collaboratives whose members include public and private hospitals and clinics, county agencies, and community-based organizations that are the major providers of health and health-related services for high-risk residents in a county or region. Grants were awarded through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

Former California Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer, who is current chair of the Orange County Coalition for Comprehensive Mental Health Services (OCCCMHS), is chair of The Orange County Project’s executive committee. In addition to UCI Medical Center, other partners in The Orange County Project are: OCCCMHS, Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics, John Henry Foundation, County of Orange Health Care Agency, Hospital Association of Southern California, Orange County Rescue Mission, Society of Orange County Emergency Physicians, Health Care Council of Orange County, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center Emergency Department, St. Joseph Hospital Emergency Department, Western Medical Center-Anaheim Emergency Department, and Western Medical Center-Santa Ana Emergency Department.

The Orange County Project unites Orange County agencies committed to creating real solutions and ultimately a more cost-effective, socially responsible system.

The program office for the Initiative is supported by the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national nonprofit organization that works to expand permanent housing opportunities linked to comprehensive services for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and often have health, mental health or substance abuse-related disabilities. For more information about the Initiative, please visit www.frequenthealthusers.org.

The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. For more information and to download a copy of the RFP, please visit www.calendow.org.

The California HealthCare Foundation is committed to improving California’s health care delivery and financing systems and informing health policy. For more information, please visit www.chcf.org.

Contact: 

Marcida Dodson
(714) 456-7679
(714) 506-1379 pager