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The NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Health Collaborative is improving the health of patients in the Washington Heights-Inwood community in northern Manhattan, according to a recent study. Implemented to address the specific needs of the community's residents, the program has made a significant impact in several key metrics, including increased patient satisfaction scores. Results from the first three years of the program are published in the November edition of the journal Health Affairs as part of a special issue on "Collaborating for Community Health."

Lead author Dr. J. Emilio Carrillo, vice president of community health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and associate professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, will present the results today at a Health Affairs briefing at the National Press Club.

A study of 5,852 patients with conditions including diabetes, asthma and congestive heart failure found that emergency department visits and hospitalizations had been reduced by 29.7 percent and 28.5 percent, respectively. Thirty-day readmissions and average length-of-stay declined by 36.7 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Additionally, Press Ganey® scores, a leading measure of patient satisfaction, improved across all measures.

"The Washington Heights-Inwood community has struggled with high rates of asthma, diabetes, heart disease and depression," said Dr. Carrillo. "The NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Health Collaborative is addressing this challenge through an evidence-based and collective impact approach that connects providers, coordinates care, and communicates with patients in a culturally competent manner. The three-year outcomes are very encouraging."

The NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Health Collaborative began in 2008, when NewYork-Presbyterian collaborated with Columbia University Medical Center to find ways to improve health care delivery for the some 205,000 residents of the Washington Heights-Inwood community. They found that the community could benefit from improvements in several targeted areas: cultural competency, information technology and access to care, especially patient-centered medical homes.

The project, which was implemented in 2010, goes beyond the established patient-centered medical home model to create a "medical village," or series of medical homes and other providers and community resources that are connected via IT infrastructure. These collaborators include school-based clinics and specialty care centers that are part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Ambulatory Care Network, NewYork-Presbyterian facilities, home care agencies and Columbia University schools, as well as social service agencies and other community-based organizations.

The NewYork-Presbyterian Regional Health Collaborative's impact goes beyond improvements in health care quality and access by incorporating care management for high-risk patients with complex conditions. Thus, providers can help prevent, reduce or delay complications associated with chronic diseases, which in turn reduces health care costs to the hospital and patients. The program may serve as a model for other academic medical centers.

"We exist for the public good, and have a profound obligation and responsibility to serve our local community," said Dr. Steven Corwin, CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian. "This model of care has allowed NewYork-Presbyterian to extend beyond the walls of our institution. In less than five years, we have truly improved the health dynamics of our community, and it is our hope that the Regional Health Collaborative will serve as a model for providing excellent health care to communities across the nation."

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive hospitals and a leading provider of inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine. With some 2,600 beds and more than 6,500 affiliated physicians and 20,000 employees, NewYork-Presbyterian had more than 2 million visits in 2013, including close to 15,000 infant deliveries and more than 310,000 emergency department visits. NewYork-Presbyterian comprises six campuses: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital. The hospital is also closely affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area, according to U.S. News & World Report, and consistently named to the magazine's Honor Roll of best hospitals in the nation. Affiliated with two world-renowned medical schools, Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, NewYork-Presbyterian is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service.

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast.