Beyond the Bedside: HonorHealth’s Commitment to Healthier Communities

00:00:00:28 - 00:00:33:24
Tom Haederle
Welcome to Advancing Health. Hospitals and health systems across America regularly take the pulse of the communities they serve, making sure that the care they offer is closely aligned with what people need most. As we kick off 2025 Community Health Improvement Week, we learn in today's podcast how Scottsdale, Arizona-based HonorHealth's adult day health care program delivers great value and expanded freedom for many older adults and the families that care for them, while also serving as an anchor for its community.

00:00:33:27 - 00:00:55:17
Samantha Borrow
Thank you so much for joining us on this Advancing Health podcast. My name is Samantha Borrow. I am a program manager on the AHA's population and community health team, and it's my honor to be joined by three of our colleagues from Honor Health, who are helping us celebrate CHI week by talking about some amazing programing that happens at their hospital.

00:00:55:19 - 00:01:20:12
Samantha Borrow
So today we have with us Michelle Pabis, the vice president of Government and Community Affairs. Haeli Miceli, the Honor Health Desert Mission executive director, and Anne Costa, the Honor Health Desert Mission living well director. Thank you so much for being here with me during CHI week. It's so great to talk to you all today. So, Michelle, I would love to start with you.

00:01:20:19 - 00:01:29:29
Samantha Borrow
Can you just talk about how you have identified needs in your community, how you've worked with your community to better address those needs through all of your programing?

00:01:30:01 - 00:01:50:10
Michelle Pabis
Great. Thanks so much for the opportunity, Samantha. So a little bit about on HonorHealth. We're a nonprofit health system based here in Scottsdale-Phoenix area of Arizona. We are the result of a merger from two systems, Scottsdale Healthcare and John C Lincoln, just over 12 years ago. But really, the combined history of our organizations are over 100 years of serving our community.

00:01:50:12 - 00:02:15:22
Michelle Pabis
Interestingly enough, it actually started with Desert Mission that we're going to talk about today. So over nearly a hundred years - we celebrate in 2027 - Helen Lincoln and her family traveled here looking for the cure for tuberculosis. That time, people were escaping to the desert from other parts of the country and she came here looking for health care. But really, what she did is instilled a sense of community, of neighbors taking care of neighbors.

00:02:15:25 - 00:02:37:19
Michelle Pabis
The Lincoln family actually helped to establish Desert Mission. Very early stages included many of the services we're still serving today and offering today - everything from a clinic to a food bank to childcare, etc.. And so Desert Mission's roots go back over 100 years in serving the Sunnyslope community, but really that much more now as a part of the larger HonorHealth system.

00:02:37:20 - 00:03:01:18
Michelle Pabis
So the four pillars of Desert Mission, as we like to say, is our food bank, our adult day health care, our early childhood education center, and our Living Well programs, which really focus on resource navigation. What we've always done, because it's the right thing to do for the community, is really the future of health care. As we look at the social determinants of health and helping connect patients to their resources available in their community, right?

00:03:01:21 - 00:03:21:29
Michelle Pabis
The American Hospital Association has done a lot of work in this area, showing that just 20% of the medical care you actually receive influence your health outcomes. 80% are those environmental factors, those social determinants of health. We need to look beyond the walls of our hospitals, right? We need to be in the community. And we do that also through our community health needs assessment.

00:03:22:01 - 00:03:44:07
Michelle Pabis
So as a nonprofit community health care system, we now have nine hospitals. And every three years we go through that what we call CHNA process, where we do survey our community. We work with key informants. We have internal teams that help prioritize the health needs of our community. And Desert Mission, without a doubt, is a large part of that strategy and helping to make sure those health needs are addressed.

00:03:44:10 - 00:04:05:19
Samantha Borrow
Thank you so much for that overview. And it's so wonderful, especially during this week that celebrates community and hospital partnerships to really be talking to you about these really strong partnerships that you have for almost 100 years now. So talk about roots in a community. You all are really well established there, and I'm sure that they rely on you for the great services that you provide.

00:04:05:21 - 00:04:25:06
Samantha Borrow
And speaking of those services, one of them is the adult day care program that you all have. And I was watching the video on your website and one of the quotes that stuck out to me as it related to this program said, older adults still need purpose and meaning in their lives and their caregivers sometimes just need a break.

00:04:25:08 - 00:04:42:27
Samantha Borrow
And we know that we have a population in the United States that is just getting older and is going to be really needing these services very soon. So I wanted to just talk more about that program, how that became one of the pillars of this work that you do. Haeli, I would love to have you talk a little bit more about that program.

00:04:42:29 - 00:05:08:08
Haeli Miceli
Well, thank you, Samantha, I would love to. It is an amazing program here at Desert Mission and HonorHealth. And as you said, aging Americans are something that we need to be focusing on. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans are going to be over 65. And Alzheimer's and dementia projections are up to 6.7 million Americans will have a diagnoses of dementia in 2024.

00:05:08:14 - 00:05:38:03
Haeli Miceli
And so the need for some of these programs becomes very great. And there's some huge benefits to adult day programs, which includes the delays in institutionalization, keeping people home longer. Caregiver support, as you mentioned, is so important for our community. Improved health outcomes is one of the things that we look at. This provides respite for caregivers, but also does some pretty amazing things for our members who come. And enhanced social engagement.

00:05:38:05 - 00:05:44:08
Haeli Miceli
And also, it's more cost effective than some of the other programs that are available to older Americans today.

00:05:44:11 - 00:05:56:17
Samantha Borrow
It's so important all around for both sides. Can you just share maybe anecdotally, is there a bright spot that you saw in a in a family that has used these services? Any words of encouragement that you hear?

00:05:56:20 - 00:06:20:21
Haeli Miceli
I will say we've got wonderful stories that that happen every day. But one of the things that we see almost daily is that we have caregivers that are able to then continue on there in a sandwich generation where they may be taking care of children at home, and they're also taking care of their parents, and they're having to make some pretty critical choices in terms of can they go to work?

00:06:20:25 - 00:06:42:10
Haeli Miceli
Do they need to stay home and be a caregiver? And programs like our adult day health care program allow them to facilitate all of those things that they need to do to operate their family. It also allows folks with family members that have dementia or cognitive decline to be able to relate to people in a way that they haven't been able to in a while.

00:06:42:14 - 00:06:59:05
Haeli Miceli
And so it brings families together. We're fortunate to have a full time social worker onsite, too, and that that allows us to help the families navigate some of those challenges and provide caregiving support groups not only to the folks that are attending our programs, but in the community as well.

00:06:59:07 - 00:07:22:03
Michelle Pabis
Samantha, I would just add it, you know, I really think it's such an important asset for our employees and our community. It is really, as Haeli said, that ability to keep your loved one at home, and caring for them, but at the same time, having that programing and social supports. We know from some of our work that if you don't have that constant stimulation, both mentally and physically, we know that decline can be that much faster.

00:07:22:03 - 00:07:42:14
Michelle Pabis
And the incredible activities that does Desert Mission does  - everything from a bingo game to dancing to painting - it really helps those members really be a part of community and have that socialization. I know I've heard and talked to several families. I was talking to a woman who had recently moved her husband into assisted living because he's declining care, and she talked about that

00:07:42:14 - 00:08:01:28
Michelle Pabis
the adult day care program was the best years of their life as they've gone through this journey. Just because not only for the supports for her husband, but for her as a caregiver. They offer support groups. There is a nurse onsite that's helping them manage medications, managing daily care. It really is, as I say, one of the greatest gifts we could give our community.

00:08:02:01 - 00:08:25:12
Samantha Borrow
That's wonderful that you offer that to the employees and the community. So it's a win win for everyone that's involved with that program. It's so wonderful to hear about that. And speaking of other programing that you have, I know that you all have the Living Well program and, and I was wondering if you could just speak a little bit more about that and how patients access that service and community members access that service?

00:08:25:15 - 00:08:51:10
Anne Costa
Yes. Happy to do that. So, as our Living Well program is our newest program within Desert Mission, and really, it was developed in response to really being able to address the social determinants of health, in conjunction with the community work that we're already doing with our other programs, but also being able to respond to those specific needs that we're seeing with our patients population being that nonprofit, part of that health care system.

00:08:51:17 - 00:09:15:17
Anne Costa
So it's been a really great, opportunity to be able to grow our programs. That's what my role has been here at Desert Mission for the past 12 years is to grow our programs to focus on things like nutrition access, education and empowerment programs around food and around other resources that community members are looking for based on their unique needs.

00:09:15:19 - 00:09:43:03
Anne Costa
I would say that food insecurity is one social determinant health that we really emphasize in conjunction with the health care system, which has been screening for social determinants of health. And particularly we've been receiving referrals for those who screen positive for food insecurity. And what's been really exciting to be in the space is that our resource navigators are on a statewide platform that is through contexture.

00:09:43:04 - 00:10:04:05
Anne Costa
It's called Unite Us. It talks with our electronic medical record, and we have been able to pilot that at Desert Mission. And I think what's different about what we're able to do is because we're part of HonorHealth, we can coordinate and collaborate very closely with our medical health care team, as well as us being the community based organization.

00:10:04:07 - 00:10:17:07
Anne Costa
Over the past year, we've been able to do about 1,000 referrals to Desert Mission to receive food. And then we say that food is you know, a gateway to other resources.

00:10:17:10 - 00:10:33:11
Samantha Borrow
Just so important that once that screening is done to make sure that there is a warm handoff in a process by which someone can actually connect to services and then actually close the loop on those. So outside of the food insecurity and screening, what other issues are you seeing really come up in your community?

00:10:33:13 - 00:11:01:00
Anne Costa
Sure. I know in conjunction with adult day social isolation has been a huge issue where we are looking to how do we bring programs to our community and come to them, which again, transportation is another big need we see. And so this is where we look at how can we take our programs mobile from doing our mobile farmstand program to increasing activities in the community?

00:11:01:02 - 00:11:36:26
Michelle Pabis
Samantha, just to add to that, I really think Anne talked about food being that gateway, right? You know, food insecurity, housing, transportation, they're all symptoms of financial insecurity at the end of the day. And so the philosophy has always been, how do we feed the line and shorten the line? We know that connecting individuals, our patients, our clients, our community members with those outside resources, given that there is a need throughout our community to find safe housing, transportation, food, etc. So their team really helps work with the individual, knows those key words to listen for and then connecting them to those outside resources.

00:11:36:28 - 00:11:52:13
Michelle Pabis
They've gotten a variety of grant programs where they've been able to do utility assistance, housing assistance. So all of those while at the same time setting them up for that longer term success by being able to identify other programs, other supports that that patient client might be eligible for.

00:11:52:15 - 00:12:15:12
Samantha Borrow
So truly that holistic service, that you're offering to patients and meeting them literally where they are with your mobile outreach programs and really getting into the community. As it is Community Health Improvement Week, I would ask if you would all just close with what inspires you right now? What's your bright spots? What keeps you going in this work in community and population health?

00:12:15:14 - 00:12:35:28
Haeli Miceli
I can jump in there to start with. And I would say across all of our programs, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to be able to provide opportunities for folks to have purpose and joy every day. Through our volunteer work, through our employees and through the people that come into our programs. It is a collaborative effort.

00:12:36:00 - 00:12:59:12
Anne Costa
I think for me, the ability to just be able to get out and really listen to what our community is needing to improve their well-being and to improve their health outcomes is something that really keeps me going. Particularly as somebody who is a big advocate in the food systems world, I love that we get to use food as a means to bring the community together.

00:12:59:14 - 00:13:04:17
Anne Costa
And, get everyone excited about their well-being.

00:13:04:19 - 00:13:23:27
Michelle Pabis
I often say I have the best job in HonorHealth. I've been here for 19 years, and our ability to respond to community need using data as well as relationships to build programs and have impact is unparalleled. I would just also say that connecting and convening peace as a large health system anchor for our community, right?

00:13:24:00 - 00:13:50:22
Michelle Pabis
People are looking to us as the model. And so not only has Desert Mission been phenomenal in their own programing, but they also partner with other community-based organizations to help them build and grow and mature and what they're able to offer. So not only are we a resource in the bricks and mortar sense but we're also, to Haeli's point, that collaborator, that partner to help ease their way or show them the way to continue to build programs and help improve the overall health of our community.

00:13:50:24 - 00:13:56:17
Samantha Borrow
Yeah, it's so great to hear that HonorHealth is really taking seriously that role as the anchor institution.

00:13:56:20 - 00:14:15:29
Michelle Pabis
Absolutely. And I think that is also being a locally owned nonprofit that we have a board of directors that also hears our community health needs assessment every three years. They approve our implementation plan. So not only is our staff bought in, our community's bought in, but our board of directors also sees this as our guiding document in completing our work in our mission.

00:14:16:01 - 00:14:39:28
Samantha Borrow
That's amazing. That "all in" approach is essential. What a wonderful way to end this conversation with you all. So thank you for joining us. It is so wonderful to hear about the work happening at HonorHealth. As a reminder, this is Community Health Improvement Week, so be sure to check out the Community Health Improvement Week website, to see how you can share the great work that's happening at your organizations.

00:14:40:00 - 00:14:51:28
Samantha Borrow
And I would like to just say thank you to our speakers today. And thank you for everyone who's listening for all of the work that you do to improve the health and well-being of the communities that you serve. Be well.

00:14:52:00 - 00:15:00:11
Tom Haederle
Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.