Hawaii Island Mayor Kimo Almueda marks the occasion with staff members from Ohana Health Plan and Hope Services Hawaii. (Courtesy photo)
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Hope Services Hawaii, the largest nonprofit homeless services provider on Hawaii Island, has partnered with a health plan provider to establish a first-in-Hawaii residential program for integrated clinical care.
Hope Services, an affiliate organization of the Roman Catholic Church in Hawaii, is working with Ohana Health Plan, which provides government-sponsored managed care sponsors to families and individuals with complex medical needs, to manage a six-bed home in Hilo, according to a Jan. 14 news release.
The home will provide Ohana Health Plan members with integrated, sustained case management and clinical care on a temporary basis, averaging one year. According to the news release, the program aims to address a gap in housing support for some Ohana members who are “experiencing homelessness, (and) who also have behavioral health needs often combined with medical needs that are too complex for traditional subsidized housing.”
According to the news release, the services provided in the residential program include behavioral health case management; a licensed behavioral health clinician for therapy and rehabilitation groups; an advanced-practice registered nurse for medication management; housing case managers; and a multidisciplinary team to provide comprehensive care.
Hawaii County, which works with Hope Services to provide emergency accommodations for people experiencing homelessness, owns the property.
“This innovative program represents what’s possible when we come together as a community to care for those who need it most,” Brandee Menino, CEO of Hope Services Hawaii, said in the news release. “Together we’re giving our most vulnerable neighbors a safe place to heal, rebuild and find hope for the future.”