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Research & Innovation
It starts with a Q:
For the latest cutting-edge research, innovative collaborations and remarkable discoveries in child health, read stories from across all our areas of study in Q: Advances and Answers in Pediatric Health.
Resource Connect: A Pediatric Integrated Care Model
In 2019, Children’s Hospital Colorado opened the Health Pavilion as part of our commitment to providing pediatric care and resources to our Aurora, Colorado community. While the first three floors offer outpatient primary and specialty care and support services, the top floor is home to Resource Connect.
Resource Connect anchors Children’s Colorado’s strategy for population health, delivering care that lasts beyond a clinic visit by creating a centralized place where patients and families can access support for common social needs. The program represents Children's Colorado's contribution to an ongoing, nationwide shift toward whole child health.
5,800+
Families referred by Children’s Colorado providers since 2019
CENTRAL
Location to meet both medical and social needs
73%
Success rate for referrals to Resource Connect
How families are referred to Resource Connect
Family comes in for a clinic visit and completes a universal psychosocial screener, which assesses a variety of social needs, such as barriers to public benefits, food access, housing, finances, education and other social and mental health-related needs. Providers, social workers or community health navigators can refer anyone who indicates an unmet social need to Resource Connect.
Example: Family attends their appointment at the Health Pavilion and completes a psychological screener. The family screens positive for food and benefits.
Families who screen positive for a resource need meet with a community health worker who works with the family to understand their needs and can refer them to Resource Connect.
Example: Family meets with a community health navigator who refers family to Resource Connect.
Once families complete their clinic visit, they can go to the 4th floor to visit Resource Connect and connect with the appropriate partner.
Example: Family goes to Resource Connect after visit to meet in-person with Eligibility Technician who processes a Medicaid and SNAP application for family. Family then goes to the Healthy Roots Food Clinic to pick up food from a menu of items of their choice and that meets their family’s taste and nutritional needs.
Once a family completes their visit at Resource Connect, they can return for follow-up assistance.
Example: Family is eligible to return to Resource Connect to meet with any partner and to fulfill their food as medicine prescription up to 12 times in a year.
Available services and partner organizations
Many of Resource Connects community partners are located within the same building as the family's appointment. If a patient needs a service that is not available on-site, their community health navigator will work to get them connected. Our integrated care model also tracks referrals to community-based partners, which helps measure the program's impact. Recent data showed that out of the screenings that were performed, 20% were positive for needing supportive services, and one-third were referred to Resource Connect. Of those referrals, 73% were successful.
In addition to the Food as Medicine Program and food clinic run by our Resource Connect team, families can be connected to other resources, including:
- Public benefits, such as Colorado Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) through Arapahoe County
- Housing navigation, including support for completing housing applications
- Legal services through the Colorado Medical Legal Partnership
- Utility bill support through Energy Outreach Colorado
- Tangible goods, such as diapers, clothing, formula, school supplies and more through A Precious Child
- Employment assistance through Adams County Workforce
- Child passenger safety education
About two-thirds of patients who are referred to Resource Connect worked with multiple partners.
Supporting our community
Since opening in October 2019, our own providers and team members have referred thousands of families to Resource Connect. These wraparound services promote equitable access to the resources that all families, including families of color and families with low incomes, need to improve their overall health and well-being.
Learn more about these programs through our annual reports:
Connecting our community with the resources they need
Patients, families and community members can more easily navigate the complex system of social services in their area by using our tool, Resource Hub.