The Bezos Family Foundation has given $30,000, and the C.E. and S. Foundation has provided $15,000 to support the KWC’s health and wellbeing innovation programming for high schoolers throughout the state.

KWC aims to get students excited about public health careers, while they collaborate to solve some of Kentucky’s most pressing barriers to wellbeing. Using STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) tools, KWC focuses on both technical skills, such as research and digital programming, along with human skills, such as emotional intelligence and complex problem solving.

Theo Edmonds, director of CCP, said, “We hope that KWC will enhance connections, enable action and nurture creativity in young people, moving them toward careers in the health sciences across the state of Kentucky.”

CCP will begin with a small prototype phase in Spring 2021 with partners from Jefferson County Public Schools and Breathitt County Schools. Some of the learning modules are being created with national partners like the Aspen Institute, while others will be delivered through regional partnerships. The program also will include enhancements for students and teachers to improve their own personal wellbeing. The digital, fully online platform will launch in the 2021-22 academic year.

“The style of leadership that the Kentucky Wellbeing Challenge seeks is thoughtful and catalytic. By pairing student contribution with true community need, the program is poised to drive important youth-led change across the state of Kentucky and help improve community health and wellbeing,” said Chris Plutte, managing director, Bezos Family Foundation.

The KWC is part of the Center for Creative Placehealing’s efforts to cultivate a talent pipeline of next-generation public health entrepreneurs, and is one of several initiatives supported by the NSF-funded Center for Health Organization Transformation based in the School of Public Health & Information Sciences.

SPHIS has been awarded two contracts from the Department of Medicaid Services within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. One project seeks to identify high-risk diabetes patients for more aggressive early preventive measures, while the second directly addresses the capacity of providers to be responsive to emerging value-based purchasing incentives. Faculty in the SPHIS proposed these initiatives based on needs specified by the state. 

“We are enthusiastic about the Medicaid initiatives we’ve been asked to work on with our state partners. Both projects are innovative and have the potential to improve the quality and efficiencies of the care provided to Medicaid recipients in Kentucky,” said Craig Blakely, PhD, dean of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

“Our collaboration with UofL leverages the breadth of expertise at the university. The analysis that will be conducted through these two contracts will inform our decisions at the state level for delivery of the best, cost-efficient care to our most vulnerable population,” said Gilbert Liu, MD, medical director for the Kentucky Department of Medicaid Services and professor of pediatrics at UofL.

The total value of both contracts over a two-year period is nearly $950,000. The financing is structured as a 50/50 match. Half the funding comes from Kentucky’s allocation of Federal Financial Participation funds – money available to external agencies like universities collaborating on Medicaid-related activities. The remainder of the project cost is paid for through the SPHIS Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences and UofL’s , an entity of SPHIS. The contracts will be administered by the Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences’ , a National Science Foundation-funded center focused on improving patient care and service, efficiency, and maximizing their capabilities while preserving resources.

More about the projects:

• Type 2 Diabetes among Medicaid Beneficiaries in Kentucky

Led by Bert Little, PhD, professor, SPHIS Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences and CIK scholar, this project will perform longitudinal analyses of Kentucky Medicaid claims to develop predictive algorithms. This work will help identify factors that can predict which beneficiaries with type 2 diabetes need more intensive medical intervention. Individuals identified with high probability of need can receive early treatment to delay or prevent severe complications of type 2 diabetes, which include blindness, kidney failure and heart disease. The expected goal is improved quality of life, along with reduced long-term care costs.

• Evaluating Provider Readiness to Implement Core Quality Measures

This study is led by two faculty in the SPHIS Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences – J’Aime Jennings, PhD, assistant professor, and Christopher Johnson, PhD, chair of the department. Jennings and Johnson also are CIK scholars and co-directors of CHOT.

Jennings and Johnson will review a provider readiness survey instrument and assess the state’s capacity for implementing quality measures outlined by Kentucky’s in five key areas: pediatrics, chronic and acute care, preventive health, behavioral health and cost/utilization.

The results of the comprehensive analysis will include a quality improvement proposal that focuses on the development of a strategic plan to accomplish quality measure implementation across Kentucky.

UofL’s selection as a CHOT site includes a 3-year agreement of up to $500,000 per year in funding from the NSF and industry partners to support the implementation of evidence-based strategies within health care organizations.

UofL joins Florida Atlantic University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Penn State University, Texas A&M University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Nottingham and University of Washington as a CHOT site.

“UofL adds access to a new geographic region and relevant population segments, such as elderly and minority populations,” said Bita A. Kash, PhD, MBA, FACHE, director of CHOT, the eight-university consortium based at Texas A&M University. “The new UofL CHOT site also will strengthen the center in the following areas of capabilities: patient-centered health information technologies; transitions in health care; and population/value-based health care.” 

“CHOT members are working to solve health care challenges three to five years ahead of the rest of the industry – we are trying to project into the future the direction of health care. Interdisciplinary applied research will be the catalyst for solving problems and making changes,” said Christopher E. Johnson, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences, UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

Johnson will serve as the UofL CHOT site director, along with J’Aime Jennings, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Health Management and Systems Sciences. UofL co-principal investigators include Antonio Badia, PhD, associate professor of computer science and computer engineering; Anna Faul, PhD, professor of social work; and Brad Sutton, MD, MBA, associate professor of medicine.

UofL CHOT is working to secure local industry partners and organizations to join the center through a $50,000 yearly commitment for three years. Potential projects include interventions for those facing opioid addictions and the role of behavioral health in helping individuals secure employment; analyzing readmission in the long-term care population; using health information technology to improve access to services; and evaluating use of artificial intelligence as a diagnostic tool.

Nationally, the multi-site center is involved in 13 projects with 23 industry members from diverse settings such as health systems/providers, retail, technology companies, associations, government agencies and insurers.