Name of Prototype 0.8: A Worthwhile Wait
Prototype Team Members: Brittany Strohm, Sarah Defreitas, Marcia Jolly, Nicole Prabhu, Braden Boyer, Kristin Avance, Michelle Mills, Nima Patel, Madeline Penner, Kristina Christy, Jesicah Gilmore, Meredith Davison
Stakeholders who will benefit: Patients, providers, social workers, OU students, volunteers, community resource providers
Stakeholders who may be at risk for some loss:None
Community Partner: Clinics, volunteers, local colleges, vendors
Student Champion: Marcia Jolly, Kristina Christy
Faculty Champion: Dr Davison
Description of Current State: Lack of resources is a significant barrier to positive health outcomes. Patients with limited resources currently have long, nonproductive waits at clinics and are not taking full advantage of available resources, either because of literacy, time, transportation or lack of knowledge. Volunteers are available, but don’t have anything to do while patients wait. Providers and social workers are not operating at the top of their licenses because they are spending substantial amounts of time helping patients with access to resources.
Description of Future State: While patients are waiting for medical care, they put their time to good use by taking full advantage of what resources are available. Volunteers spend more productive time in service to these patients by directing and assisting them toward resources. Social workers spend more time caring for patients in crisis and less time helping with paperwork and basic information on resources. Providers spend more time on medical care and less on addressing the resource issues that impede health.
Description of Prototype 0.8 designed to bring the future into being: Volunteers will take surveys to ensure personalized information on resources. The resource listing will be reorganized and simplified to help patients better understand what is available and how to access resources. We will provide an organized, localized, supervised center for information and common forms to fill out (the volunteer carts). While patients wait, volunteers will assist them in contacting organizations either through transportation assistance, assistance filling out paperwork, or directly calling organizations for information. Volunteers will communicate individual patient resource information to the providers so they are more knowledgeable about their patients’ situations. Volunteers will follow-up with patients regarding their success in accessing resources so outcomes can be tracked and the service expanded.
Timeline and Milestones: Now – compile resource info, design resource screening survey, coordinate with Good Samaritan to train existing volunteers, coordinate with local colleges to recruit additional volunteers, identify donors
Month 1 – coordinate regular donations for supplies, initiate trial runs, adjust plans as needed
Month 2 – incorporate new recruits into system, transition to self-sustaining project within Good Samaritan. Adjust plans as needed
6 months – compile outcome measurements and assess progress. Adjust plans as needed. Apply for grants (if available) to continue funding project. Continue to recruit new volunteers.
12 months – compile outcome measurements and assess success of program. Plan for expansion into other venues (Bedlam, Morton, etc.)