Independence Care System (ICS) was recently named a recipient of an Affinity Legacy Community Grant to develop a Center of Excellence in primary care for people with physical disabilities in partnership with New York City Health+Hospitals, the largest community hospital system in the country.
The grant will allow ICS to move forward with a two-year-long project that will establish a primary care model for people with physical disabilities. Together, H+H and ICS will work to improve electronic medical records to identify and accommodate the needs of people with disabilities and document the best practices to perform, create educational materials to maximize the value of primary care visits and train staff and clinicians on disability competent care.
The first year of the program will be devoted to establishing the infrastructure needed to provide disability competent care, with the model being implemented the second year. Overall data will be collected to establish the best practices for both clinicians and administrative staff.
ICS is a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 as a pioneering, innovative community of professionals dedicated to serving people who, prior to ICS, were often forced to spend their lives in institutions.
“We’re grateful to receive this funding from Affinity Legacy, which will allow us to fully realize a primary care center for people with physical disabilities — something greatly needed in New York City,” said ICS President and CEO Regina Martinez-Estela. “Our program is greatly aligned with Affinity Legacy’s mission of supporting programs focused on helping individuals in underserved communities make informed decisions when choosing and using healthcare services. This grant will allow us to use our 20-plus years of experience serving low-income, Medicaid eligible New Yorkers with physical disabilities to create an infrastructure that can be replicated to promote lifesaving preventative services from primary care doctors.”
“H+H has worked closely with ICS for the last 10 years and we look forward to continued collaboration through the support from Affinity Legacy,” said Ted Long, H+H senior vice president, Office of Ambulatory Care & Population Health. “H+H and ICS serve many of the same population, whose physical disabilities and chronic conditions put them at higher risk for poor health outcomes. Our two organizations share a deep commitment to minimizing those risks by providing access to high-quality, disability-competent providers and care to help people be as healthy as possible.”
Affinity Legacy, Inc., formerly known as Affinity Health Plan, Inc., operates as a not-for-profit organization based in the Bronx. Building on a storied, multi-decade history of addressing the health care needs of underserved individuals, families and communities, Affinity Legacy’s mission is now manifested through grants made to community-based organizations serving the residents of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties.
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