California Health Care Improvement Projects (CHIPs)

Ako Jacinto presents his CHIP

California Health Care Improvement Projects (CHIPs) are designed by CHCF Health Care Leadership Program participants with the goal of addressing meaningful challenges or opportunities in health care. 

Browse CHIPs to leverage the work of CHCF alumni and find opportunities to collaborate in order to improve health for Californians.

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Maximizing the PPE Available for Los Angeles County Workforce during COVID-19

Konita Wilks

My CHIP project focuses on conservation of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the 23,000 workforce members in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to find new ways to extend our existing supply of PPE, identify safe and effective alternatives, and secure new supply that met agency standards. Emphasis is on the decontamination or re-processing of N95 respirators, as there was a critical supply shortage of N95s at the onset of the pandemic. I review the operational phases: discovery, obtaining buy-in or negotiations, and implementation; and discuss what guided our decision-making at each phase. 250,000 N95 respirators were generated to replenish the depleted emergency stockpile for our LA County healthcare workforce as a direct result of my CHIP project.

June 1, 2022
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A Telehealth Journey: From Emergency Response to Sustainable Operations

Jessica Moore

Telehealth has always interested me as a model of care to decrease barriers and increase access to care, but prior to the pandemic state of emergency there wasn’t a reimbursement model for FQHCs in primary care. We were doing some telehealth with remote specialists, bringing patients to the clinic for visits, but nothing in primary care or with remote patients. Then everything changed. Over 2 weeks in March 2020, we went from 100% in-person visits, to only 15%, the remaining 85% remote telehealth. Over the next two years, my team and I wrestled with infrastructure, workforce, and staffing for this new model and how we might implement it in ways that were equitable and meaningful to patients and their families. The objectives were constantly shifting due to a combination of internal and external forces. Ultimately, we achieved a somewhat steady state with 20% telehealth visits which are primarily integrated into our in-person clinics. The bigger issues of equity and patient experience will require continued advocacy and effort to ensure that the disparities that already exist in access do not persist in the expanded telehealth model.

June 1, 2022
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Leadership and Advocacy for Black Maternal Health Outcomes

Aline Armstrong

Black birthing mothers and their babies are dying in one of the most progressive and wealthiest cities of the country. I engaged San Francisco’s city officials and the Department of Public Health leadership to do something about health inequities and improve disparities impacting Black/African American birthing people. I had the opportunity to present data on preterm birth, infant mortality and poor maternal health outcomes, address social determinates of health, and advocate for new funds with recommendations to close the gaps. This was important to me because I was a new Director during historical events with a pandemic, Black Lives Matter protests, and racism happening across the country. The goal of the project was how to advocate and receive funds to improve health outcomes for vulnerable population.

May 31, 2022
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Birth-Centered Outcomes Research Engagement (B-CORE) in Medi-Cal

Priya Batra

Objective: The project will use deliberative democracy methods to engage stakeholders most impacted by pregnancy-related death in Medi-Cal to generate solutions and design interventions to support equity in maternal health outcomes for Medi-Cal-covered births.

May 31, 2022
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Managing Mental Health Crises on the Telephone (an interim report from my leadership journey)

Anh Thu Bui

The CHIP was a focal point of the CHCF program, but my true CHIP came through learning about myself as a leader during challenging times. Fueled by burning questions and supported by mentors, friends and family, I managed to thrive during the past two years. Given all the crises in the world, and given my personal and professional investment in mental health, what could I do to contribute? How might we improve our communities’ health and wellbeing? (In the face of problems that pre-dated but exacerbated by the pandemic, from health disparities, to social inequities and structural racism.)

May 31, 2022
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Amplifying Health Care Workforce Diversity through Community Empowerment: Capacity Building for Alliance in Mentorship/MiMentor

Consuelo (Connie) Casillas

My project aims to address the six-fold disparity in the California Latinx physician workforce to the populations they serve. This workforce mismatch contributes to health care disparities by diminishing access to care for marginalized populations as well as the delivery of culturally and linguistically sensitive care. This issue hits at the heart of why I pursued medicine over 20 years ago; a desire to provide service to our most vulnerable populations.

May 31, 2022
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Overcoming Financial Barriers to Medication Access with Drug Manufacturer Copay Coupon Programs

Karen Chin

Remove barriers to medication access, improve a patient’s therapeutic outcomes by preventing under treatment, and increase overall patient care affordability by implementing KP approved drug manufacturer copay coupons electronic claims processing at KP National Specialty Pharmacy (KPNSP).

May 31, 2022
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