Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

DATE:	June 26, 2013
TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Chris Wildgen, Intern
CC:	Cynthia Wagner, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager / City Clerk
RE:	Heartland Community Health Center Revised 2013 Agreement

Summary

Heartland Community Health Center has revised their plan for the usage of agreed upon funds from the City of Lawrence during budget year 2013. The funds were originally going to support the position of clinical social worker due to the end of a grant that supported the position’s expenses. Heartland Community Health Center has accepted another grant for two years that will support that position, thus changing the planned purpose of the allocated funds. The new use of the funds will support AmeriCorps health coaches and pay for an electronic health records subscription fee to recognize the clinical social worker as a provider and allow them to bill patients for their services.

Revision

The City of Lawrence agreed to fund $21,913 for a clinical social worker position at the Heartland Community Health Center (HCHC). Since then, HCHC has accepted a two year grant that will allow them to fund the clinical social worker position that the funds were originally for. Due to these changes, HCHC requests that the funds support AmeriCorps health coaches ($15,000) and pay for part of the electronic health records subscription fee ($6,913), all equal to the previously allocated amount of $21,913 (see revised agreement).

AmeriCorps health coaches will serve several roles for HCHC. They will meet with all new patients and screen them for substance abuse. The coaches will provide advice on healthy behaviors concerning substance abuse and connect patients with needed resources. The AmeriCorps coaches will work alongside the primary care providers to help patients live a more holistic life style.

The funding of the electronic records subscription fee will recognize the clinical social worker as a provider in HCHC’s electronic health records and allow for patient care billing. This will help support the position for a greater amount of time.

While the reason for funding has changed, the ability for HCHC to achieve the original outcomes will be enhanced by adding AmeriCorps coaches and paying for the electronic health records subscription fee, as they keep their clinical social worker position with help from the extended grant.