Stable housing is a major social determinant of health — that is to say, the conditions where people live and work that affect one’s health. But in many communities like Clark County and Washoe County, the economic burden of costly housing alone may prevent individuals or families from meeting other basic needs, which can impact their health. This might make it more difficult for them to access things that make up a healthier life – everything from an integrated care team to nutritious food.
Nevada has the ninth highest rate of homelessness in the nation, with 40% of the homeless population reporting one or more disabling conditions such as substance abuse, mental health or physical/medical ailments according to the 2020 Southern Nevada Point-in-Time Count.
In order to help address these disparities, Health Plan of Nevada (HPN) has partnered with community organizations like Clark County Social Services and Help of Southern Nevada to identify possible health care interventions that make the most sense for its Medicaid members and provide stability to one of their most vulnerable populations.
“Working with community partners like Health Plan of Nevada, we’re able to provide a capacity of services that the county can’t provide in silos,” said Assistant County Manager Kevin Schiller.
“This partnership has been successful because their client is our client, and we’re going to continue to grow this program to a much larger scale because of the joint-funded model we’ve come together to create to serve the community.”
Since 2015, Health Plan of Nevada has worked in association with their community partners to stabilize members using multiple, housing first models. To date, Health Plan of Nevada has placed more than 2,200 Nevadans in stable housing across all housing models throughout the state of Nevada.
Through a “housing first” model, Health Plan of Nevada has worked in accordance with community organizations to provide homeless assistance models such as permanent supportive housing, respite housing, transitional housing and sober-living housing, that prioritize permanent housing solutions to members, creating a platform from which they can properly recover from medical conditions, and improve their quality of life. Through the housing first model, Health Plan of Nevada provides its critical Medicaid members with wrap-around support with access to services like clinical health care, social and support counseling, job training, health education classes and even access to food.
“Data shows that 80% of an individual’s health is determined by what happens outside the doctor’s office, and we recognized that our members had no place to go to finish their healing,” said Ritchie Duplechien, Director of Medicaid Outreach and Market Growth for Health Plan of Nevada. “Staying true to our mission to serve the community, we’ve taken the steps to meet our members where they are at and provide support that they may not have access to otherwise.”
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