Children’s National Primary Care Clinics Recognized as Medical Homes

All Seven Clinics Receive Highest Possible Ranking from NCQA

Washington DC — Children’s National Medical Center announced today that all seven of its primary care clinics have been recognized as “Physician Practice Connections^®– Patient Centered Medical Homes™” by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Each center (six Children’s Health Centers and the Adolescent Health Center) received Level 3 PCC-PCMH recognition, NCQA’s highest recognition. The Children’s National centers are the first pediatric practices in the District of Columbia, and among the first pediatric practices associated with an academic health center nationally, to receive this designation. The health centers are based in the Diana L. and Stephen A. Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health at Children’s National, and are located in neighborhoods throughout the city. These health centers are the largest providers of primary care services to underserved children in the District of Columbia.

“The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of 21st century primary care that combines access, teamwork and technology to deliver quality care and improve health,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “NCQA’s PCMH 2011 Recognition shows that Children’s National’s Child Health Centers have tools, systems and resources to provide their patients with the right care at the right time.”

A medical home is a better way of providing comprehensive medical care to children and their families. The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home standards emphasize the use of systematic, patient-centered, coordinated care that supports access, communication and patient involvement. Care is facilitated by registries, information technology, and health information exchange to assure that patients get the indicated care when and where they need and want it in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner. The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home program is endorsed by the American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

Denice Cora-Bramble, MD, MBA, senior vice president of the Goldberg Center commented on the recognition saying, “The medical home is an emerging and innovative model for primary care service delivery. I’m thrilled to help lead this on-going transformation of our health clinics into advanced medical homes. This new model provides an excellent framework for training the next generation of health care providers for children and reducing disparities of care and outcomes for underserved children.”

The Goldberg Center plans to disseminate lessons learned to affiliated practices and other community based groups to facilitate broader adoption of the medical home model and improve children’s health care throughout the metropolitan region. The seven Children’s National recognized by the NCQA are:

• Children’s Health Center, Sheikh Zayed Campus for Advanced Children’s Medicine
  111 Michigan Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20010
  
  
• Adolescent Health Center, Sheikh Zayed Campus for Advanced Children’s Medicine
  111 Michigan Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20010
  
  
• Children’s Health Center Adams Morgan
  1630 Euclid Street NW, Washington DC 20009
  
  
• Children’s Health Center, Good Hope Road SE
  2501 Good Hope Road SE, Washington, DC 20020
  
  
• Children’s Health Center, Martin Luther King Avenue SE
  3029 Martin Luther King Avenue SE Washington, DC 20032
  
  
• Children’s Health Center, Shaw
  2220 11th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
  
  
• Children’s Health Center and Mobile Health Program at THEARC
  1901 Mississippi Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20020
  
  

About NCQA:
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information for consumers, purchasers, health care providers and researchers.