Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's New Jersey Health Initiatives Primary Care Workforce Innovations Program

Award Date: January 20, 2013

Geographic Scope: New Jersey (statewide program)

Primary Recipient: Henry J. Austin Health Center, in partnership with Trenton Health Team

Purpose

To explore ways to reorganize current staffing in physician's offices and clinics to improve patient service without increasing costs.

Focus Areas

• Primary care workforce innovations
• Staff role development and optimization
• Improving patient service quality while managing costs
• Responding to shortage of doctors and nurses
• Preparing for increased insured patients under the Affordable Health Act

Context

Improving care while keeping costs low is becoming more of a challenge due to a shortage of doctors and nurses and an expected increase in insured patients seeking primary care under the Affordable Health Act.

Program Details

Grants were handed out to seven primary care practices total, ranging from federally qualified centers like Henry J. Austin to private or hospital-owned family practices in New Brunswick, Lambertville, and Edison. An additional $800,000 grant was awarded to Healthcare Quality Strategies, Inc., the state's federally-designated Quality Improvement Organization, to oversee the grant recipients, conduct site visits, customize and monitor staff redesign plans for continued improvement.

Eligible Organizations

• Federally qualified health centers
• Private family practices
• Hospital-owned practices

About Henry J. Austin Health Center

Trenton's only federally qualified health center, it provided low-cost primary care services to about 15,000 patients in 2012.