What is Whole Person Care?
In order to address and prevent homelessness in our community, we need an innovative approach designed around our community.
Whole Person Care improves outcomes by unifying services with a “no wrong door” approach that stabilizes and connects individuals to the right care in the most appropriate setting. This increases our community’s capacity to service those experiencing homelessness and deliver a more responsive system of care for those who need it most.
The Idea
Whole Person Care means we’re placing the most vulnerable and fragile residents experiencing homelessness at the center of a coordinated, responsive, and sustainable system of care. The goal is to increase the coordination of health, behavioral health, and social services with a patient-centric focus.
By improving the health and wellbeing of a vulnerable population, Whole Person Care promotes a more efficient and effective use of resources.
The program also fosters deeper collaboration and coordination between service providers. New and existing partners work together to engage the target population, assess the range of health and housing needs, share data across systems, coordinate care in real-time, and evaluate health and housing outcomes.
The Funding
Whole Person Care was an initiative operated by the centers for care and administered by the California Department of Health Care Services.
The City of Sacramento was awarded $64 million to implement Whole Person Care from July 1, 2017, to December 31, 2020. The City and partnering organizations contributed funding for the program, which was matched with federal Medicaid funds through Intergovernmental Transfers.
Who is Eligible?
Medically eligible individuals who are experiencing homelessness or are at-risk of homelessness who also meet the following criteria:
- Must meet hospital or city utilization criteria
- Referrals are accepted from designated healthcare and city designated contacts
Due to the targeted population that Pathways to Health + Home serves and the specific eligibility criteria for the program, Pathways to Health + Health is not currently offering open referrals.
