LAURA KUSTER Health Equity Specialist YWCA Greater Pittsburgh CARRIE BERLIN Outreach & Enrollment Manager YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Reaching Special Populations Outside of Your Four Walls 2016 Health Center Outreach & Enrollment Regional Debrief & Training March 8, 2016

Feel free to raise questions and discuss relevant experiences!  Introductions  Overview of YWCA Health Equity programming  Goals & Expectations for the Hour

Defining your outreach & enrollment goals What are your overall program goals? How can increasing outreach accomplish those goals? Examples: Are you finding new people to schedule enrollment appointments in your office(s)? Are you offering to do enrollments for consumers at partner sites? Do you want to set up meetings/workshops/events? Are you tabling at events with the goal of educating the community about health insurance options? Using their health insurance? Some combination?

“Special Populations” African Americans American Indian/Alaskan Natives Asian Americans/Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders Children Courts & corrections systems Educators Health care providers Homeless Immigrants Individuals with disabilities Latinos & Hispanics LGBT individuals Local leadership Medicaid beneficiaries Medicare beneficiaries Refugees Rural populations Seasonal employees Veterans Women Young Adults

Defining your outreach & enrollment goals Who is your program trying to reach? How do you know which demographic categories are missing from the consumers you’re already seeing? How much time, effort and budget are you able to spend on outreach?

Defining your outreach & enrollment goals What is your message about your program and health insurance? What materials will you use to promote your message? Are they consistent?

Getting ready: Do the research Find partners Who do you already know? How can you find new partners and outreach opportunities? Be a good partner As you decide who you are reaching out to, what can you find out about their communities? Are there any special considerations?

Getting ready: Make time to strategize Best practices for using your time efficiently while planning outreach: Write things down & be detailed Plan to review & update the plan later on But give the plan time to work Assign roles if working as a team Schedule team meetings ?

Getting ready: Make time to strategize Setting a timeline & achievable goals Task Q1 Due 9/30 Q2 Due 12/31 Q3 Due 3/31 Q4 Due 6/30 Participate in community events reaching # this year #### Initiate meetings with # potential partners this year ####

Establishing outreach partnerships Whenever possible, find 1 contact person within an agency, group or community. Discuss goals Find common ground If appropriate, make specific plans Keep in touch Make it easy for them to contact you

Establishing outreach partnerships Clarify what you’re asking & what you can offer a partner Be flexible & creative Is it a one time deal? Or a recurring partnership? Keep track of outreach contacts & events in a way that makes sense for your program

Evaluating outreach After a set period of time, plan to evaluate your progress. Is it working? (refer back to goals) Time to adjust goals? Time to reach out for additional help? If you did events or workshops, did you use surveys? Have you developed sustainable partnerships?

Continuing Research As you broaden client base, are there any new questions? How are you dealing with the communication needs of new clients? Are non-English speakers receiving the same level of care as English speakers? What other needs have you learned to address?

Online Resources Enroll America Toolkits for specific populations “Best Practices in Outreach and Enrollment for Health Centers” Families USA Kaiser Foundation HRSA CMS

Contact Information Laura Kuster Health Equity Specialist YWCA Greater Pittsburgh Carrie Berlin Outreach & Enrollment Manager YWCA Greater Pittsburgh