Project Access-New Haven (PA-NH) is committed to rigorous program monitoring and evaluation to measure key outcomes and impact and inform quality improvement. In addition, through community-academic research partnerships, we participate in studies that strive to increase knowledge and drive innovation around the use of patient navigator and community health worker interventions to improve healthcare delivery for vulnerable populations.
Results
Research and Evaluation
Highlights & Accomplishments
PA-NH has mobilized over $100 million in donated medical care since opening in 2010.
On average, PA-NH Urgent Specialty Care patients have an initial medical appointment within 14 days of enrollment and show up for their scheduled appointments 97% of the time.
PA-NH patients report increased access to care, improved health-related quality of life, and high program satisfaction when surveyed one year after enrollment.
Awards
In 2014, PA-NH and Yale New Haven Hospital were awarded the Connecticut Hospital Association and Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Hospital Community Service Award for working together to care for medically underserved Greater New Haven residents.
The PA-NH Breast Health Navigation Program was awarded the Susan G. Komen of Southern New England Power of Pink Innovative Program of the Year Award in 2016.
PA-NH received the New Haven Medical Association Community Service Award in 2019
Publications & Presentations
- Kelley L, Spatz E, Carlotta-McDonald G. Project Access-New Haven (PA-NH): From a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project to an established 501(c)(3) organization with 15 years of sustained community engagement and impact. Oral presentation at: Connecticut Public Health Association Annual Meeting, November 2024, Plantsville, CT.
- Kelley L, LaMonaca K, Frieson T, Carmona J, Ramirez Y, Astudillo K, Landock M, Carlotta-McDonald G, Izampuye E, Santilli A, O’Connor Duffany K. A community health worker (CHW) intervention to address social determinants of health (SDoH) through community-clinical linkages: A mixed methods evaluation. Oral presentation at: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, October 2024, Minneapolis, MN.
- Carmona J, Ager M, Landock M, Sanchez J, Santilli A, Duffany K, Cramer J, Werlin S, Carlotta-McDonald G, Kelley L. Project Access-New Haven (PA-NH) COVID-19 trusted messenger initiative: A public health messaging campaign employing patient navigators (PNs) and community health workers (CHWs) to reach underserved Greater New Haven residents. Oral presentation at: Connecticut Public Health Association Annual Meeting, November 2022, Plantsville, CT.
- Samuels EA, Kelley L, Pham T, Cross J, Carmona J, Ellis P, Cobbs-Lomax D, D’Onofrio G, Capp R. “I wanted to participate in my own care”: Evaluation of a patient navigation program for Medicaid-insured frequent users of the Emergency Department. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health. 2022; 22(2):417-426.
- Liu P, Astudillo K, Velez D, Kelley L, Cobbs-Lomax D, Spatz E. Use of mobile health apps in low-income populations: a prospective study of facilitators and barriers. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. 2020; 13:1-5.
- Kelley L, Capp R, Carmona J, D’Onofrio G, Mai H, Cobbs-Lomax D, Ellis P. Patient navigation to reduce emergency department (ED) utilization among Medicaid insured, frequent ED users: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2020; 58(6): 967-977.
- Kelley L, Cobbs-Lomax D, Nunez-Smith M, Ellis P, Spatz E. Project Access-New Haven: Evaluating the impact of a community-based patient navigation program on access to medical care for low-income, uninsured residents using a mixed-methods, stakeholder-engaged approach. Oral presentation at: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, November 2019, Philadelphia, PA.
- Ager M. Project Access-New Haven: Access to Urgent Specialty Care for Low-Income, Uninured, Greater New Haven Residents. Oral presentation at: Connecticut Public Health Association Annual Meeting, October 2019, Plantsville, CT.
- Astudillo K and Kelley L. Adoption and utilization of mobile health (mHealth) technologies among low-income, minority patients with assistance from a community health worker. Oral presentation at: Connecticut Public Health Association Annual Meeting, October 2019, Plantsville, CT.
- Liu P, Astudillo K, Velez D, Kelley L, Hutton D, Krumholz L, Cobbs-Lomax D, Spatz E. Experiences and Perspectives of Low Income Patient Populations in Using a Mobile Health Application with Tailored Assistance from a Community Health Worker. Oral presentation at: Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Annual Conference, April 2019, Arlington, VA.
- Soma G, Vargas-Ramos T, Carlotta-McDonald G, Landock M, Kourouma K, Emerson BE, Tiyyagura G. Prevalence of Health-Related Social Needs Among Pediatric Emergency Department Users. Poster presentation at: Eastern Society for Pediatric Research Annual Meeting, March 2019, Philadelphia, PA.
- Dhruva S. Implementation of an eConsult System with Patient Navigation. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved. 2019; 30(1):28-39.
- Herrin J, Harris K, Spatz E, Cobbs-Lomax D, Allen S, Leon T. Hospital Leadership Diversity and Strategies to Advance Health Equity. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2018; 44:545–551.
- Kelley L, Dhruva S. Implementation of eConsults with Patient Navigation at a Federally Qualified Health Center. Oral presentation at: Communities Joined in Action National Conference, February 2017, San Antonio, TX.
- Ellis P, Carmona J. Coordinating Care in the Emergency Department (ED): Community Health Workers and Patient Navigators in a Hospital ED Setting. Oral presentation at: Communities Joined in Action National Conference, February 2017, San Antonio, TX.
- Cobbs-Lomax, D. Lost in translation. Can you hear me now? The voice of the patient in the healthcare setting. Oral presentation at: American Academy on Communication in Healthcare 2016 ENRICH Healthcare Communication Course and Research Forum, June 2016, New Haven, CT.
- Ellis P, Bartolo I. Patient Navigators, Care Coordinators, Community Health Workers: How are they defined? What do they do? Do they make a difference in health outcomes, patient satisfaction, or cost? Workshop Session at: Society of General Internal Medicine Annual Meeting, May 2016, Hollywood, FL.
- Capp R, Kelley L, Ellis P, Carmona J, Lofton A, Cobbs-Lomax D, D’Onofrio G. Reasons for Frequent Emergency Department Use by Medicaid Enrollees: A Qualitative Study. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2016; 23(4): 476-81.
- Kelley L, Spatz E, Cobbs-Lomax D, Ellis P, D’Onofrio G, Lofton A, Carmona J, Borgstrom B, Capp R. Impact of Patient Navigation on Patient-Reported Access/Barriers to Care among Medicaid-Insured, Frequent Emergency Department Users. Poster presentation at: AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, June 2015, Minneapolis, MN.
- Capp R, Kelley L, Cobbs-Lomax D, Ellis P, Lofton A, Carmona J, Spatz E, D’Onofrio G. Assessing the Impact of Patient Navigation on Reducing Emergency Department Visits for Adult Medicaid Frequent ED Users: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Oral presentation at: AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, June 2015, Minneapolis, MN.
- Capp C, Camp-Binford M, Sobolewski S, Bulmer S, Kelley L. Do Adult Medicaid Enrollees Prefer Going to Their Primary Care Provider’s Clinic Rather Than the Emergency Department (ED) for Low Acuity Conditions? Medical Care. 2015; 53(6): 530-533.
- Kelley L, Cobbs-Lomax D, Gedge W, Lofton A, Spatz E. Building healthy communities around shared goals: A community-academic partnership between Project Access-New Haven and Yale-New Haven Hospital. Roundtable presentation at: American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, November 2014, New Orleans, LA.
- Lofton A, Kelley L, Capp R, Cobbs-Lomax D, Carmona J, Ellis P. Randomized Control Trial of Patient Navigation for Medicaid-Insured: Frequent Users of the Emergency Department. Poster presentation at: Communities Joined in Action National Conference, October 2014, Detroit, MI.
- Kelley L, Capp R, Cobbs-Lomax D, Ellis P, Lofton A, Carmona J, D’Onofrio G, Spatz E. Patient navigation to improve care for Medicaid-insured, frequent Emergency Department users: A community-academic partnership between Yale-New Haven Hospital and Project Access-New Haven. Oral presentation at: AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, June 2014, San Diego, CA.
- Capp R, Kelley L, Ellis P, Carmona J, Lofton A, Cobbs-Lomax D, Spatz E, West D, Ginde A, D’Onofrio G. A feasibility and acceptability study: Enrollment of Medicaid frequent ED users in a navigation program to decrease barriers to outpatient care. Poster presentation at: Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting, May 2014, Dallas, TX.
- Capp C, Kelley L, Ellis P, Cobbs-Lomax D, Carmona J, Lofton A, D’Onofrio G. Reasons for frequent emergency department use: A qualitative study. Poster presentation at: Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting, May 2014, Dallas, TX.
- Cobbs-Lomax D, Gedge W. Building communities around shared goals: Lessons and challenges from Project Access – New Haven and Yale-New Haven Hospital. Oral presentation at: Communities Joined in Action National Conference, November 2013, Charlotte, NC.
- Kelley L, Cobbs-Lomax, D, Spatz E. Impact of a navigated care model for uninsured patients on specialty care delivery, patient-reported health outcomes, and access to care. Oral presentation at: AcademyHealth Disparities Interest Group Annual Meeting, June 2013, Baltimore, MD.
- Capp R, Rosenthal MS, Desai MM, Kelley L, Borgstrom C, Cobbs-Lomax DL, Simonette P, Spatz ES. Characteristics of Medicaid enrollees with frequent ED use. American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2013; 31: 1333-1337.
- Binford M, Sobolewski S, Kelley L, Borgstrom B, Rosenthal M, Simonette P, Spatz E, Cobbs-Lomax D, Desai M, Lagarde S, Capp R. Characteristics and outcomes associated with Medicaid and uninsured patients presenting to the ED with non-emergent complaints previously evaluated by other health care providers. Poster presentations at: Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Northeast Regional Conference, April 2013, Providence, RI, and Society of Academic Emergency Medicine National Conference, May 2013, Atlanta, GA.
- Kelley L. Project Access-New Haven: A community partnership to increase access to care and reduce health disparities in New Haven, Connecticut. Poster presentation at: Department of Health and Human Services’ 2012 Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities, December 2012, National Harbor, MD.
- Kelley L, Lofton A. Best practices in addressing health inequities. Oral presentation at: Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators Annual Conference, September 2012, Phoenix, AZ.
- Kelley L. Models of Navigation. Oral presentation at: Connecticut Cancer Partnership Patient Navigation Conference, April 2012, Cromwell, CT.
- Spatz ES, Phipps MS, Wang OJ, Lagarde S, Lucas GI, Curry LA, Rosenthal MS. Expanding the safety net of specialty care for the uninsured: A case study. Health Services Research. 2012; 47(1 Pt 2): 344-62.
- Spatz ES, Phipps MS, Lagarde S, Borgstrom C, Lewis-Hunter AE, Wang OJ, Rosenthal MS, Lucas G. Project Access-New Haven: Improving access to specialty care for patients without Insurance. Connecticut Medicine. 2011; 75(6): 349-54.