SNAHC Awarded Funding For Innovative Texting Solutions To Engage Patients In Recovery

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Aug. 5, 2014 - PRLog -- Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNAHC) announced today that it has been selected as one of eight grantees throughout California to receive a Texting for Better Care grant through the Center for Care Innovations (CCI). This opportunity is supported by the Blue Shield of California Foundation and will provide the Health Center, which is located in Midtown, Sacramento, with funding to develop an innovative texting model that has high impact, will make a significant impact on patient engagement, and can be spread to other safety net organizations that serve the health and welfare of the underserved and underinsured.

According to the 2010 Indicators of Alcohol and Other Drug Risk and Consequences for California Counties report for Sacramento County, American Indian and Alaskan Native admission rates into treatment were 1,280 per 100,000 in 2008, the second highest of any ethnic group. These rates are more than double as compared to those for every other race and ethnicity group in most years.

Today, cellular phones make it possible to remotely deliver services to assist people with behavior modification and disease self-management, thereby improving health outcomes. And with the proliferation of mobile health interventions, which are focused on increasing healthy behaviors throughout the healthcare system, a number of mobile strategies are available for integration into patients’ everyday lives. These strategies minimize resistance to intervention methods and facilitate healing with demonstrable results.

About SNAHC’s New Patient Engagement Texting Initiative

The goal of the initiative is to apply a fully automated, three-tier patient engagement texting communication system that is designed to engage patients in recovery programs when they are not physically present at a group meeting or in a clinical setting. As part of this initiative, SNAHC will be working with HealthCrowd, an end-to-end mobile messaging platform, and partnering with non-profit groups, such as White Bison, which is focused on inspiring a life of wellness and healing everyday for Native Americans.

Britta Guerrero, CEO for SNAHC, commented, “At the health center, we are always looking for opportunities to further engage our patients. With the ability to use technology -- and more specifically text messaging -- we can easily communicate traditional healing and wellness messages in a modernized way. We are very excited to partner with CCI, Blue Shield, HealthCrowd and White Bison to achieve better outcomes for our patients.”

About SNAHC

The Sacramento Native American Health Center, Inc. (SNAHC) is a non-profit, Federally Qualified Health Center located in Midtown, Sacramento. Accessible to all members of the Sacramento community, our health center proudly serves as a health care safety net provider with a dedicated team of highly-trained clinicians offering a wide range of services, including primary medical care, nutrition and diabetes programs, case management, comprehensive pediatric and adult dental services, a broad range of behavioral health, substance abuse and domestic violence services, as well as a home visitation program for at-risk families with young children. The mission of SNAHC is to carry out the legacy of a healthy American Indian and Alaskan Native community based on cultural values delivered through traditional, measurable, transformational, innovative, accessible, and self-sufficient systems of health care.  Beyond providing health care, we play a key role in the development and empowerment of the Sacramento community. We are committed to enhancing the quality of life by providing a culturally competent, holistic and patient-centered continuum of care to everyone.