IEHP Hosts Listening Session with DHCS and Community Partners

It takes a village to deliver quality care and optimal health, no matter what region you serve.

That’s why the California Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) initiated a series of Listening Sessions throughout the state, with the most recent event held at the headquarters of Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) in Rancho Cucamonga on Jan. 27. 

The roundtable discussion focused on how the CalAIM state policy is being implemented in the Inland Empire and outlined improvement opportunities with DHCS Director Michelle Baass, Chief Deputy Director of Health Care Programs Jacey Cooper, Deputy Director Susan Philip, Assistant Director Tracy Arnold, and Health Program Specialist Brian Hansen.

“Health is no longer just about a doctor’s office, a hospital or clinic. It’s about public health, behavioral health; things that are really going to influence a person’s life,” said Baass, who acknowledged the need and appreciation for the wide variety of care partners in attendance. 

The group of DHCS representatives were met by IEHP leadership and nearly 70 Inland Empire partners including Molina Health Care and Kaiser Permanente to discuss priority issues, best practices and the experience of Medi-Cal programs for beneficiaries in our counties. 

“I’m grateful to be sitting at the table, not only with our hospital folks, [but] along with housing and workforce solutions,” said Sayori Baldwin, Riverside County’s assistant executive officer of human services, who shared her team’s experience with child welfare and her colleague’s struggle to maximize and leverage funding for child welfare patients who have complex needs. 

This meeting was the second in a larger series supporting DHCS’s ongoing effort to actively meet with and learn from various partners about the state’s Medi-Cal program. 

“This discussion was a great opportunity to share details about the work being done, where the gaps lie and how DHCS can help us deliver quality and equitable care to the communities we serve,” said Jarrod McNaughton, IEHP’s chief executive officer. “We appreciated the time and really look forward to continued collaboration and the inspired action to come out of these conversations.”

Top row, from left: Brian Hansen, DHCS health program specialist; Michelle Baass, DHCS director; Jacey Cooper, DHCS chief deputy director of health care programs; Jennifer Cruikshank, Riverside University Health System chief executive officer; William Gilbert, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center chief executive officer.
Bottom row, from left: Jarrod McNaughton, IEHP chief executive officer; Amanda Flaum, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. vice president; Susan Philip, DHCS deputy director; Tracy Arnold, DHCS assistant director.