Chequamegon Accountable: the Community for Health (CA:tCH) - Ashland & Bayfield Counties
Impact
The Beekeepers' primary focus was creating an Accountable Community for Health with the CA:tCH Safety Plan workgroup. The group met monthly to design agreements, training, and workflows, bringing in a legal team to assist in their revolutionary project that worked through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to create a voluntary patient-owned information sharing system.
The CA:tCH Safety Plan was created to help identify a person in crisis and provide them the most appropriate care and treatment necessary to best help them during that crisis, including who in their networks to contact, physician information, and best practices for escalation as identified by the patient themselves.
The prior behavioral response system did not allow this information to be transferred between public health, law enforcement, and emergency response teams when a person made a crisis call, causing confusion and further escalating the situation. The Beekeepers’ ultimate goal was to allow these organizations to collaborate legally and ethically to view information chosen by the patient to best help them during a crisis.
Create a Framework for Systemic Coordination
Increase Access to Services for Underserved Populations
Improve Responses to Behavioral Health Crises
Steering Committee Members
Government
- Ashland County Health and Human Services
- Bayfield County Health Department
Education
- Northland College Center for Rural Communities
- School District of Ashland
Healthcare
- NorthLakes Community Clinic
- Memorial Medical Center
Public Safety
- Ashland County Sheriff's Department
- Bayfield County Sheriff's Office
- City of Ashland Police Department