HCCI Launches Nationwide Network For Home-Based Primary Care Education

HCCI Centers of Excellence, which include eight prestigious medical institutions, to leverage first and only comprehensive curriculum in the U.S. to help meet the growing need for home-based primary care professionals

Schaumburg, IL /PRNewswire/ - The Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) today is announcing the launch of the HCCI Centers of Excellence (COEs) for Home-Based Primary Care, a first-of-its-kind program designed to increase the prevalence of high-quality home-based primary care across the United States. The HCCI COE program features the only comprehensive home-based primary care (HBPC) curriculum in the U.S., offered at eight partner institutions.

Home-based primary care brings the expertise of physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants directly into the home. This focus on timely and appropriate care improves medical outcomes and patient and family experience, and reduces health care costs for older Americans with multiple chronic conditions and other medically complex patients.^1,2 HCCI estimates there are only 1,000 providers in the U.S. making the majority of home-based primary care visits. The Institute aims to grow the HBPC workforce by training 5,000 clinicians, as well as practice managers, over the next five years.

"HCCI is committed to inspiring, engaging and growing the next generation of home-based primary care professionals," said Dr. Thomas Cornwell, Founder and CEO, HCCI. "We are working to improve the lives of medically complex patients and preparing the nation for future pressures on the health care system as America's aging population grows."

To develop greater understanding about best practices in home-based primary care, HCCI will continue to gather insights and develop a greater understanding of best clinical and operational practices through a new data registry. COEs, as well as house call programs that participate in HCCI training, will be invited to contribute to the data registry and best practice development.

HCCI has selected the following eight leading academic centers and health systems across the U.S. to be the first HCCI COEs included in this prestigious program:

• Cleveland Clinic
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• MedStar Health – Medical House Call Program
• Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
• University of Arizona Center on Aging
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
• University of California, San Francisco

"The launch of this nationwide COE network marks a significant milestone for the expansion of home-based primary care in the U.S.," said Bill Zafirau, MD, Medical Director, Center for Connected Care at the Cleveland Clinic. "Cleveland Clinic is thrilled to work with HCCI and others in the network to provide clinicians and practice managers with much-needed training, resources and support to begin or grow their home-based primary care programs."

About The Curriculum
The HCCI Essential Elements of Home-Based Primary Care© curriculum was developed by a cadre of nationally recognized home-based primary care thought leaders, and focuses on four core components of home-based primary care—foundational principles, economics, operations and clinical care.

The foundational course is comprised of three learning experiences. In the first, COE faculty members will deliver 12 hours of classroom education designed to ensure that both clinical care and practice management professionals meet required competencies and established performance standards. Participants do not need to be affiliated with the COE institution to register for the course. The subsequent two experiences focus on skills application: group mentorship followed by a "mini-fellowship" at an HCCI Practice Excellence Partner (PEP) site. Launching in early 2018, the PEP program offers both clinical and practice management learners valuable field experience in HBPC.

"For the first time, HCCI has brought together the collective knowledge of so many committed and passionate experts into one comprehensive educational experience," said Martha Twaddle, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, HMDC, Senior Vice President, Curriculum and Quality, HCCI, who helped lead development of the curriculum. "Together with our partners, including the American Academy of Home Care Medicine, the field's professional association, we look forward to shaping the future of home-based primary care."

The HCCI COE program is made possible in part by funding from organizations that share HCCI's vision of guaranteeing access to home-based primary care for all patients who are better cared for in the home. These include the Bramsen Foundation, which is dedicated to transforming health care and improving end-of-life care, and The John A. Hartford Foundation, a private national philanthropy based in New York City that is dedicated to improving the care of older adults. To learn more about the HCCI COEs or to register for the foundational course, please visit www.hccinstitute.org.

About The Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI)
Founded in 2012 by Dr. Thomas Cornwell, the Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) is a collaborative non-profit organization that is advancing home-based primary care nationwide to ensure that medically complex and homebound patients have access to high-quality primary care in their home. HCCI works with leading academic medical centers, health systems and experts in the field of home-based primary care to raise awareness of and advocate for expansion of the home-based primary care model, grow the home-based primary care workforce through education and training, and develop a research-based model for sustainable house call program implementation and growth. To learn more, please visit http://www.hccinstitute.org/.

¹ Edes T, Kinosian B, Vuckovic NH, Nichols LO, Becker MM, Hossain M. Better access, quality, and cost for clinically complex veterans with home-based primary care. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2014;62(10):1954-1961. doi:10.1111/jgs.13030.
² Independence at home demonstration performance year 2 results. U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. August 2016. https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2016-Fact-sheets-items/2016-08-09.html. Accessed June 26, 2017.