Media Contact: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications, barbara@eafocus.com or 248.260.8466
Rochester, Mich. – March 25, 2021 – Six months into an arrangement between MedNetOne Health Solutions (MedNetOne), the Salvation Army Harbor Light Macomb, and Judson Center Health, the integrated primary care arm of the Judson Center human services agency, positive whole person health outcomes are already being tracked for those in recovery at Harbor Light.
Harbor Light offers an entire continuum of substance abuse treatment services, including in-patient medication assisted detoxification, 14- to 90-day residential treatment, outpatient treatment, case management, peer recovery services, legal aid, and pastoral care. Prior to its September 2020 agreement with Judson Center, Harbor Light Macomb lacked a consistent primary care component for those in recovery. MedNetOne, a health care management organization offering infrastructure and clinical services to nearly 1,000 private practice physicians and other independent care providers, was already in a partnership with Judson Center that began in February 2019 when the two organizations opened Judson Center Health, an integrated primary care clinic in Warren offering Judson Center’s behavioral health specialist services in tandem with a primary care physician and nurse practitioner employed by MedNetOne.
In April 2020, Judson Center was designated by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC), which expanded its reach and funding to offer 24/7/365 crisis services, outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment services; immediate screenings, risk assessments, and diagnoses; and care coordination with emergency rooms, law enforcement, and veteran groups. Armed with the CCBHC designation, Judson Center again joined with MedNetOne to extend Judson Center Health services to Harbor Light Macomb, offering to operate an integrated primary care clinic at its Clinton Township site. Open three days a week, the clinic is led by Al Juocys, DO, a long-time family physician and Chief Medical Officer at MedNetOne who not only provides primary care services to those in recovery, but gives patients a listening ear and his personal cell phone number.
“This is primary care as it was intended to be,” Dr. Juocys said. “These individuals are fighting to rid their lives of addiction in the midst of a pandemic and need personal support for their physical and emotional health. I provide medical care, but also a sounding board to hear their stories. I then determine how we can work together to help them achieve optimal physical and emotional health, looping in Judson Center behavioral health specialists into their care plan.”
Dr. Juocys, who is a retired surgeon general of the Michigan National Guard, received certification as a substance use disorder specialist during the first few months of the Harbor Light Macomb Clinic’s opening, as did Elizabeth Haberkorn, MSN, FNP-BC, an associate medical director at MedNetOne and the nurse practitioner at Judson Center Health in Warren, who sees patients upon their release from Harbor Light. MedNetOne CEO Ewa Matuszewski talked about the model being used.
“When we first opened and patient visits were low, we did not fluctuate the clinic hours. Patients needed to know that a trusted health partner would be there for them,” Matuszewski said. “As we did at Judson Center Health in Warren, which is co-located with the agency’s behavioral health services, we brought primary care into behavioral health at Harbor Light Macomb. It’s proving to be the optimal way to treat patients with a substance use disorder who also need a primary care provider for acute or chronic conditions.”
Dr. Juocys is seeing approximately 18 to 20 patients a week and working with Judson Center’s behavioral health team to meet the health goals of the partnership agreement between Salvation Army Eastern Michigan Division and Judson Center: reduce hospital and out-of-home placement readmissions for individuals who have been treated for mental health or substance use disorder, deliver outpatient mental health services to those who have not received treatment in the prior six months, reduce critical events such as hospitalizations, suicide, and overdoses, and track health effectiveness data.
In addition to its work with Judson Center, MedNetOne is involved with a variety of broad-based primary care initiatives, including the Patient-Centered Medical Home, the Patient-Centered Medical Home Neighborhood and the High Intensity Care Management (HICM) model for the frail, elderly and homebound population. The organization is actively involved in healthcare and community education efforts to raise awareness of the role that Social Determinants of Health (#SDOH) play in overall health and wellness.
About MedNetOne Health Solutions
Based in Rochester, Mich., MedNetOne Health Solutions is a leader in advancing the development and implementation of the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and advanced primary care. Its physician/provider members are focused on fully integrated, population-based, patient-centric practices that enhance patient outcomes and meet government healthcare reform mandates. Learn more here.
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