Current Projects
In addition to CHRT’s cornerstone programs–the health policy fellowship, the Washtenaw Health Initiative, and the physician and consumer surveys–CHRT regularly manages mission-relevant research, demonstration, and educational projects with funding from public sector partners, as well as paid consulting projects for public and private sector clients.
Featured Projects
Evaluation of Michigan’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
Client(s):
Need: The 2014 Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) authorized a new demonstration program intended to improve community mental health services. In 2020, following a request from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan was…
CHRT's Role: The Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) at the University of Michigan will partner with MDHHS on this project to provide health research, analyses, surveys, demonstration projects, backbone support, and consulting. CHRT has existing experience evaluating Medicaid programs in the state, as well as advanced…
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Providing backbone support to the Washtenaw Health Initiative
Client(s): Washtenaw Health Initiative
Need: The Patient and Protection Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law on March 23rd, 2010. The most sweeping health care reform the U.S. had seen in decades, the ACA was meant to dramatically increase access to health insurance for those…
CHRT's Role: CHRT provides backbone support to the WHI and serves as the initiative’s fiduciary agent. In this role CHRT is responsible for:
• Serving as a neutral convener to facilitate the WHI Steering Committee’s activities (including the WHI’s overall strategic agenda).
• Housing the WHI’s Project Manager, who…
Staff:
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Enhancing the POM Accountable Care Organization’s performance in the Medicare Shared Savings Program
Client(s): Physician Organization of Michigan Accountable Care Organization
Need: The cost of medical care is rising at the same time that the percentage of people age 65 and older is increasing rapidly in Michigan and the rest of the country. Medicare Shared Savings Programs (MSSP) benefit…
CHRT's Role: CHRT is supporting the Physician Organization of Michigan Accountable Care Organization’s (POM ACO) strategic planning efforts by providing federal policy consulting services aimed at enhancing the organization's (ACO) performance in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). This six-month…
Staff:
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Synthesizing learnings for the community routes: Advancing access to mental health care learning summit
Client(s): Direct Relief
Need: Direct Relief provides grants to safety net community healthcare providers that create innovative approaches to address infectious disease in underserved communities and create greater health equity in these vulnerable…
CHRT's Role: CHRT will
Melissa Riba, research and evaluation director at CHRT, will attend the Learning Summit, take notes, gather recordings, and collect other materials as appropriate.
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Evaluating and communicating about Washtenaw County’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Deflection (LEADD) program
Client(s): Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Washtenaw County Community Mental Health
Need: In October of 2021, Washtenaw County launched an evidence-based Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Deflection (LEADD) program in response to data that revealed stark disparities between the general incarcerated population and the incarcerated…
CHRT's Role: CHRT is evaluating Washtenaw County’s LEADD Initiative to assess its effects on individual client outcomes as well as on the criminal justice and legal systems. CHRT will use a combination of evaluation methods including surveys, interviews, and analysis of existing data sources.
Concurrently, CHRT’s communications…
Staff:
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Promoting social, behavioral, and economic research on COVID-19
Client(s): Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
Need: The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), a consortium of more than 750 academic institutions and research organizations, has been selected by the National Institutes of Health to coordinate social, behavioral,…
CHRT's Role: CHRT will support ICPSR and the consortium grantees by developing reports, research briefs, infographics, and other publications to share research findings, activities, and resources.
CHRT will deliver two pieces of communication material:
Annual meeting report sharing findings from the NIH-sponsored researchers
…
Staff:
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United Auto Workers Pilot Peer Support Program
Client(s): United Auto Workers (UAW)
Need: United Auto Workers is working to provide support for union members who are personally struggling with Substance Use Disorder (SUD), or who have a loved-one with SUD. CHRT is partnering with the United Auto Workers (UAW) to develop, implement,…
CHRT's Role: Based on a rigorous literature review, stakeholder interviews and experience in the field of SUD outreach, engagement, and treatment,
CHRT will:
Develop, pilot, and evaluate a workplace Peer Support Program, where UAW members with lived experience in substance use disorder recovery are trained to provide…
Staff:
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Understanding health disparities through improving EMS data
Client(s):
Need: Emergent Health Partners and CHRT are working to implement EMS clinician training modules across all six EHP EMS agencies in Michigan. These modules will train clinicians to accurately collect sensitive demographic data pertaining to race, ethnicity,…
CHRT's Role: CHRT will be responsible for convening the community advisory board, implementing clinician training, and analyzing EMS data post-implementation.
Convening the community advisory board
CHRT will recruit CAB members through EHP's existing community partners, the Washtenaw Health Initiative…
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Lessons learned from the Pfizer Foundation’s community health innovation grant program for infectious disease control in underserved communities
Client(s): Direct Relief
Need: With funding from the Pfizer Foundation, Direct Relief runs a community health innovation award program for infectious disease control in underserved communities across the U.S. To improve the program and share…
CHRT's Role: CHRT will collaborate with Direct Relief staff members to monitor, track, and analyze the progress of grantees over a two-year period. Throughout the two-year evaluation, CHRT will:
Review grantee…
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Health education opportunities for Michigan legislators and legislative staff, Phase II
Client(s):
Need: Due to the substantial turnover and subsequent loss of subject matter expertise in health issues in both the state House and Senate each election cycle, there is a need to support of both legislators and their staff. This project will help build…
CHRT's Role: In Phase I of this project, CHRT, IPPSR, and Health Fund staff gathered input from legislators and legislative staff on topics of interest for primers, discussions, and forums. To date, CHRT has developed three primers to coincide with two discussion forums:
The…
Staff:
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