This week, the King County Accountable Community of Health (ACH) Governing Board welcomed Susan McLaughlin, PhD as its first Executive Director. Susan will provide leadership, overall strategy, operations and work to build collaboration across multiple partners working for better health in the King County region.
A central focus is bringing together partners to implement the Medicaid Transformation Project Demonstration in our county. This is a strategic opportunity to attract significant federal investment to our region to improve health outcomes and address the social and economic factors that impact health.
Read below for more information on the Medicaid Demonstration.
In Susan’s own words:
“I am honored to be selected as the Executive Director for the King County ACH. I truly believe that together we can transform how we do business and create a health care system that focuses on prevention, embraces recovery, and eliminates disparities. I look forward to working with the Governing Board and all of our community partners to achieve this goal.”
About Susan
Susan is coming to the King County ACH from the King County Department of Community and Human Services as the Health and Human Services Administrator. In that role, she led the County in its efforts to move to fully integrated physical and behavioral health and led programs and policies to assist the county’s most vulnerable residents and strengthen its communities. She has been a pioneer in advocating for family and youth involvement, including authoring a family inclusion model to ensure family and youth voice in systems and program development.
More about the Medicaid Transformation Demonstration Program
Planning work is moving forward this summer as the King County Accountable Community of Health is working to pursue projects aimed at transforming the Medicaid delivery system to serve the whole person and use resources more wisely.
Here’s how to get involved
Community partners are now working collaboratively to form one design team for each of the eight potential projects under the Demonstration:
Physical-Behavioral Health Integration; Addressing the Opioid Crisis; Community-based Care Coordination; Transitional Care; Diversion Interventions; Maternal/Child Health; Oral Health Services; and Chronic Disease Prevention.
Each design team will involve multiple sectors such as community organizations, health providers and other organizations critical for project success.
What collaborative ideas does your organization have to improve the health system for individuals who receive care through Medicaid? You can get involved in Design Teams by contacting hhstransformation@kingcounty.gov and we will connect you with the right lead for a particular project team.
About the King County ACH
The King County ACH is one of nine regional organizations created statewide as part of the Healthier Washington Initiative to implement a five-year Medicaid Transformation Project Demonstration. The King County ACH is a newly created non-profit Limited Liability Company (LLC) of The Seattle Foundation.
At the heart of the King County ACH is an understanding that many factors affect our health:
- Social and economic factors
- The physical environment where we live
- The quality and availability of health care and social services
- The choices we have access to and make as individuals
Because of this, everyone has a role to play in helping “move the needle” on better health and assuring no one is left behind.