Leadership, Management and Workforce Development
Sharing Session - 30 Minutes
Catherine Shepard, MBA,MACJ
Provider Relations Liaison
Houston Health Department
The health needs of the populations that we serve are often complex and are influenced by a variety of social, economic, and environmental factors that have a great impact on health outcomes. Therefore, it is imperative for organizations to create a network of healthcare and community partners to provide a multi-faceted approach to best address the needs of these populations. The addition of a Provider Relations Liaison in the local community setting can help programs establish partnerships to build capacity, generate referral, and ultimately generate revenue that leads to program sustainability.
The addition of a Provider Relations Liaison and the development of the bi-directional referral system helped to bridge the communication gap and strengthen relationships between DAWN, healthcare providers, and community organizations within the City of Houston. These strengthened partnerships provide opportunities for future collaborations to help sustain healthy communities with the goal being data-sharing for monitoring and evaluation purposes. Most importantly, strong partnerships lend support and credibility to the value of the DAWN program, as evidenced by the 361.29% increase in referrals between 2016—2017.