Empowering Primary Care in Texas

The Texas Primary Care Consortium annual summit is a learning lab, collaborative gathering, and catalyst for primary care transformation in Texas. This year, under the theme “Powering Primary Care: Leading the Change for the Health of Texans,” stakeholders and leaders will discuss solutions to complex health care system challenges. 

We work with a number of partners across Texas to support the health needs of its communities and strengthen the health care system – including the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC), the Texas Council of Community Centers, and the Episcopal Health Foundation. Since 2018, JSI has worked with the TACHC to support patient-centered medical home (PCMH) documentation review and transformation coaching for health centers. We provide consulting in models such as PCMH and team-based care that are at the forefront of the transition to value-based care, along with technical assistance on the payment models to support it. 

Since 2018, the JSI-led Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net has provided funding and technical assistance to the Texas Council of Community Centers to support their 39 community mental health centers work towards a value-based payment and care system. In addition, JSI is applying its expertise in supporting health care organizations to address social determinants of health (SDOH) with community-based organizations through projects such as the UnitedHealthcare SDOH Learning Collaborative. This collaborative strengthens the ability of health centers and accountable care organization provider sites in Houston and Austin to assess and meet patient social needs and advocate for payment models to support this work. We are also conducting research for the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF)’s Texas Accountable Communities for Health Initiative to  recommend steps it can take to ensure that its sites achieve financial sustainability.

We deeply value our partnership with the Episcopal Health Foundation and the Texas Association of Community Health Centers to strengthen the state health center network so it can  achieve the quintuple aim: reduce costs; improve health outcomes; better engage patients; improve staff and provider satisfaction; and reduce health disparities.” Alexia Eslan.

On October 15, Alexia Eslan and Shao-Chee Sim, VP for applied research at EHF, will discuss “How Community Health Centers in Texas are Assessing their Capacity to Strengthen Population Health and Engage in Payment Reform.” The presentation will highlight findings from the evaluation of the ongoing Clinics Pathway Approach program, which aims to build the capacity of 11 community health centers throughout the eastern region of Texas to conduct population health work and value-based payment system design.

Learn more about our work in health care transformation.