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Inclusive Healthcare Partnership Project
The Inclusive Healthcare Partnership Project (IHPP) was initiated by VTDDC to bring the voices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities into Vermont’s conversation about healthcare reform.
A
team of self-advocates, family members, physicians, and other healthcare providers met monthly. They reviewed findings from focus groups, key stakeholder interviews, Medicaid claims data, and research into innovative best practices. They found that adult Vermonters with I/DD are a medically underserved population and recommended steps to improve the health and healthcare experience of this group.
“Our staff has no special training on the best way to care for people with intellectual disabilities— whether it’s how to communicate or how to feel comfortable— nobody has had that training.”
- a Vermont medical professional
The “triple aim” of healthcare reform promises better health and a better care experience at a reduced cost. These three goals can be achieved for adults with complex disabilities by:
- Ensuring that healthcare workers are trained in disability-related issues and provide appropriate accommodations.
- Adapting wellness supports and programs to the unique needs of people with disabilities.
- Supporting a “warm hand-off” when youth with disabilities transition to the adult healthcare system.
- Reimbursing provides for extra appointment time, pre-visit nursing assessments, and other best practices.
A special thanks to the State of Vermont's Health Care Innovation Project for their grant to make this project and study possible.
Disability Core Competency Tool Kit and Training
The Disability Core-Competency Training Project is the first of its kind to deliver 20+ hours of instruction to healthcare officials on 11 disability-related topics. The training team educated 240 care coordinators, nurses, case managers, and other community health workers.
To preserve the intent of the project, all training materials were consolidated into an online-toolkit. This allows for trainees to return for a “refresher” or for new interested parties to educate themselves on this delicate and much-needed orientation. The end-goal is to improve health-outcomes and experiences, and prevent medical emergency situations for Vermonters with disabilities.
The second of two grants from the Vermont Health Care Innovation Project, the toolkit illustrates what the Pacific Health Policy Group calls “the disability core-competencies”; some topics within the toolkit include:
Universal Design- Best Practices in Communicating
- Sexuality and Disability
- The Role of Early Trauma
- Person and Family Centered Care
- Transitioning from Pediatric Care to Adult Care