At ADAPT Community Network, we provide supports and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). However, we and other providers are not the only organizations that play a role in the care of the individuals we support.
As you may know if you or a loved one receives services from ADAPT, Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs) play a vital role in the daily lives of people with I/DD. A Care Manager is assigned to each individual and works in conjunction with the individual and their family members to develop a Life Plan that describes their goals, preferences, medical and support needs, and more. Every party involved in the meeting aims to take a person-centered approach to the Life Plan, that, according to the New York State Office for People with Disabilities (OPWDD), “captures the individual’s comprehensive needs and meaningful goals/supports so that [their services] are tailored to help the person achieve what is most important to them.”
Care Design New York (CDNY) is a CCO that works with ADAPT Community Network and many other providers in New York State. On Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, representatives from both organizations (as well as Partners Health Plan (PHP), a managed care organization affiliated with ADAPT Community Network), met at ADAPT’s Stillwell Ave. campus in the Bronx to collaborate and create system-wide care solutions for the I/DD services field.
Prior to the picnic, focus groups composed of ADAPT and Care Design Staff met to address three areas—Training, Life Plan Experience, and Regulation Changes. At the picnic, each focus group summarized its findings and shared solutions for areas of improvement.
Matt Parascando, ADAPT’s Senior Vice President of Program Services, was one of the organizers of the collaboration—titled the “Successful Partnerships Project.” The multi-year project began last year and featured similar discussion sessions and a picnic. The project’s goal, Parascando said, is to “facilitate and streamline communication between CCOs and providers and come up with ways that we could work together to look at some system-wide issues across both providers and care organizations.”
The Successful Partnerships Project, according to Parascando, is a unique endeavor.
“I think we’re the first [organizations] that have come together at a larger table like this to collaborate and look at some of these system-wide things like regulations and the Life Plan process, and how we can make them better for the people we support,” he said.
The Successful Partnerships Project team plans to continue meeting in the future to further enhance the relationships between I/DD providers and CCOs. Thank you to CDNY, PHP, and everyone who participated in the event—we hope to see you again next year!
