Umpqua Health Delivers Household Air Purifiers to Combat Wildfire Smoke

Douglas County’s Coordinated Care Organization used patient analytics to find at-risk members for proactive outreach

Local care delivery is about more than physical, behavioral, and oral health care. Coordinated care organizations are investing heavily in the social determinants of health (SDoH) to improve health outcomes and achieve health equity.

This article from Healthcare Business Today highlights how one of COHO’s members, Umpqua Health Alliance, is addressing local needs through data and flexible investments:

Earlier this year, Umpqua Health obtained funding that allowed it to obtain 420 air purifiers to proactively distribute prior to the 2022 fire season, but first health system leadership needed to determine which patients had the greatest need for the devices. Umpqua Health used its analytics platform to pinpoint the patients most at-risk for respiratory complications by running a model that predicts an individual’s future risk based on past events and claims data.

The health system then contacted those members via text message to gauge their interest, and then began distributing the purifiers to patients through its transitional care clinics, in addition to home deliveries for homebound patients. So far, 76% of patients contacted have accepted the offer of the air purifiers, and Umpqua Health has distributed 309 of its 420 total allotment.

Read the full article at Health Care Business Today by Dr. Rich Parker, MD, the Chief Medical Officer at Arcadia.

Oregon should protect and enhance the local coordinated care to ensure communities get the most bang-for-buck toward health and health equity.