Public Health Solutions (PHS) is proud to launch a new innovation, the Food and Nutrition Services Bundle (FNS Bundle), funded by OneCity Health’s Innovation Award Program, to address food insecurity and nutrition in the Bronx.
More than 375,000 people in the Bronx experience food insecurity, representing 26% of the city’s total food insecure population.
Food insecurity, lack of access to healthy foods, and poor nutrition are inextricably linked, and result in high utilization of health services, emergency room visits, and overall health care costs. Despite healthcare reform’s new attention to screening for food insecurity in medical settings, the community-based food and nutrition service landscape is fragmented, leaving healthcare providers with no reliable means of connecting individuals to the full range of services that they may need.
PHS’ innovation, the FNS Bundle, attempts to remedy this problem by establishing a coordinated intake system for food and nutrition services, including a trustworthy bridge from hospitals and health plans to community-based food and nutrition providers.
The FNS Bundle is designed to improve health outcomes and reduce potentially avoidable hospital costs by helping food insecure patients enroll in SNAP, WIC, Medically Tailored Meals, and/or congregate meals, and access to food pantries. Data from the project will be used to evaluate the innovation’s potential to be scaled more broadly and incorporated into New York State Medicaid Value-Based Payment methodologies for healthcare.
We expect to reach over 2,500 Bronx patients through this new innovation.
PHS is privileged to partner with experienced and local leaders in food and nutrition services including Bronxworks, The Food Bank of New York City, and God’s Love We Deliver. We are also thankful for our healthcare partners Healthfirst and H+H Hospitals Jacobi and Lincoln.
Reducing health inequality is the core of PHS’ mission. We seek to improve social determinants of health through innovative approaches, and foster effective partnerships to improve the health of NYC’s vulnerable families and communities.