By Rebecca (Becky) Majdoch, Senior Advisor to the Director, Bureau of Family Health, Louisiana Department of Health
In Louisiana, Title V is administered by the Bureau of Family Health (BFH) of the Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health. The vision of the Bureau is for Louisiana to be a place where all people are valued to reach their full potential, from birth through the next generation. BFH’s mission is to elevate the strengths and voices of individuals, families, and communities to catalyze transformational change to improve population health and achieve equity. Recent accomplishments focus on expanding maternal health opportunities, improving care coordination efforts, and strengthening services for people living with sickle cell.
The Doula Registry Board is creating a registry for doulas seeking health insurance reimbursement. It will help promote safe and equitable care for every mother and birth in Louisiana. The Board is responsible for reviewing and approving applicants. It also maintains a statewide registry of doulas approved for health insurance reimbursement in Louisiana. They are currently finalizing a draft for promulgating rules for the application criteria, registration, and renewal of registration of doulas throughout the state. The Board is also researching and investigating platforms to house an online registry of participating doulas. Once preliminary guidelines are established, and the application and registration process is launched, board duties will include reviewing doula applications on an annual basis and collaborating with insurance providers to ensure insurance reimbursement for all registered doulas in the state.
Care coordination services address medical, social, developmental, behavioral, educational, and financial needs to improve health outcomes and decrease healthcare costs for children. BFH recently released the Care Coordination Toolkit to support practices in improving and expanding care coordination services at the clinic level. The toolkit uses step-by-step guidance to maximize clinic capacity and provide teams with the information needed to develop improvement targets for care coordination services. The toolkit is customizable and can assist providers in assessing, planning, and implementing changes at their own pace.
Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. Louisiana Medicaid provides healthcare coverage to approximately 3,000 individuals living with SCD in Louisiana each year. Currently, there isn’t a comprehensive population-level public health monitoring system to know the number of individuals living with SCD in Louisiana. BFH is responsible for building a foundation for a system to monitor the health of individuals with SCD and strengthen the ability of care systems to support people living with SCD in the state. The Louisiana Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Registry, known as the Skylar-Cooper Database, functions as a single repository of accurate, complete records to aid in the cure and treatment of SCD to improve coordination and continuity of care.
For more information on these resources and initiatives, please visit PartnersForFamilyHealth.org.
