Gundersen Health System Makes 15,000 Referrals in 3 Years
In three years, Gundersen Health System staff and Community Resource Connector (CRC) volunteers made nearly 15,000 referrals via Findhelp on behalf of patients to address the social determinants of health (SDoH). Read our recently published case study to learn more about this partnership and its effective use of technology and training to close the loop with patients and improve health outcomes.
Closing the loop on patient needs through partnership and innovation
Gundersen is part of Bellin and Gundersen Health System (soon to be Emplify Health). Formed in December 2022, Bellin and Gundersen is a not-for-profit, patient-centered, community-focused healthcare network with headquarters in Green Bay and La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Bellin and Gundersen has nearly 15,000 employees, including more than 1,000 clinicians, in 11 hospitals and more than 100 clinic locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Upper Michigan, and Iowa. With community partners, Bellin and Gundersen strive to lead local, regional, and national healthcare transformation to enrich individuals for their healthiest lives at every stage.
Since becoming a Findhelp customer in 2020, Gundersen created the Community Resource Connector team, a unique volunteer team that helps address patients’ SDoH via navigation on their branded Findhelp platform, Community Link.
In just three years, the CRC team has helped Gundersen staff achieve considerable success:
The challenge: Connecting patients to community resources without a centralized system
Gundersen is fortunate to have several community-based organizations throughout their 21-county service area; however, they needed a way to share information about those programs with their patients.
- Without a central directory, Gundersen struggled to keep track of the available resources in their service area.
- They did not have a standard referral pathway that allowed for closed-loop communication, including through email and texting.
- Staff did not have a convenient way to identify which resources patients had been referred to, or what the outcome was.
These challenges made it difficult to track outcomes and ensure that needs were met.
The solution: Streamlining social care coordination with Findhelp
Gundersen knew that to sustainably assist patients with social needs at scale, they needed a solution to these challenges. They rolled out the Findhelp platform to patients, staff, and community members as a resource network and closed-loop referral system. At the same time, they launched two key initiatives:
- They created the Community Resource Connector team to help coordinate social care for patients. To help them connect with patients, these volunteers received training on motivational interviewing and communication techniques. They also learned how to navigate both Epic (Gundersen’s electronic health record) and the Findhelp platform.
- They enhanced the number of local community-based organizations (CBOs) by partnering with their local 211. To start, Great Rivers 211 helped add 1,500 programs to the Findhelp network. Ongoing, a bi-directional sharing of resources and information keeps programs up-to-date and ready to use.
A successful CRC follow-up workflow
The Community Resource Connector team follows a standard navigation workflow when supporting patients.
With the dedication of the CRC team and a strong partnership with Findhelp, Gundersen has successfully:
- Conducted nearly 25,000 searches for resources
- Placed almost 15,000 referrals
- Connected more than 2,000 patients to community resources
As they continue to grow their SDoH screening and response plan, Gundersen uses Findhelp’s analytics to identify service gaps.
The gaps identified through the analytics tools help Gundersen prioritize two things: system-wide initiatives and increased support of community-based interventions. Patients described the assistance they received from the CRC team as “a turning point in [my] life” and “the best gift ever.”
Achieve your health equity goals with Findhelp
Whether you leverage local volunteers like Gundersen or incorporate social care into your staff workflows, Findhelp can support your organization’s health equity goals. Connect with one of our expert team members to explore our seamless integration options and learn how you can address SDoH with Findhelp.
