How a Community Health Approach Leads to Better Care
March 23, 2023 by Peter Friesen
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the world thought about healthcare, exposing strengths and weaknesses in our current systems. Institutional inefficiencies were exposed, along with a lack of preparedness.
Up to now, the U.S. healthcare system has been set up as transactional – you feel sick, you get care. There wasn’t much emphasis on keeping people healthy before they needed help.
The pandemic has encouraged medical leaders to shift their thinking toward more preventative care, especially as people with chronic conditions resume regular care that was put on hold for the last few years.
In a recent episode of the Tyler Tech Podcast, Jeff Stocker, director of Health Ventures for Tyler Technologies, shared his expertise on how healthcare has changed at the local, state, and federal levels.
Local Healthcare in New Settings
The pandemic brought testing sites and vaccine administration to the community outside of a traditional hospital or clinic. Stocker noted that churches and other places of worship stepped into the valuable role of community partner and caregivers during the pandemic, offering testing and vaccines with doctors, nurses, and clinicians working alongside volunteers who were familiar faces to regular attendees. This increased trust and communication for communities who may have had poor experiences with institutional healthcare in the past, or just needed the validation of their friends or spiritual leaders’ involvement.
This outsourcing of care not only eased the burden on hospitals and clinics that were treating sick patients, but it also helped give preventative healthcare a friendly, trusted face.
A New Perspective on State Support
As unemployment rose during the pandemic, many states expanded Medicaid enrollment to ensure residents still had access to healthcare. Some states, such as Kentucky, also introduced care programs focused on psychological treatment due to pandemic-related issues like isolation or stress, depression, and anxiety.
This represents a shift from treatment of the symptom, to examining the cause in a more holistic sense. Investigating societal issues like transportation, housing, or access to fresh foods can lead to a greater understanding of how healthcare can treat a whole population, instead of just treating their symptoms.
Federal Focus on Access
As states expand support for healthcare, and towns and cities discover new and better ways to connect residents to care, the federal government has recognized the need for funding these new priorities.
Accessibility, led by states and local jurisdictions, has become the new focus, with discretionary funding to help bolster local programs and service. The Department of Health and Human Services also received funds to ensure healthcare infrastructure is in place, and make preparations for another health emergency.