MEDTAPP Mentor: Improving Health Care for Medicaid Clients Update Year 2

Caring for clients enrolled on Medicaid and other forms of medical assistance can be a challenge, causing a shortage of healthcare providers to service this population. Even when financial barriers are alleviated, challenges related to cultural issues, an inefficient care delivery system, and a lack of resources persist (Kullgren & McLaughlin, 2010; Oduro, Connor, Litwin, & Maliski, 2012) . The MEDTAPP Mentor program uses an interprofessional model to address student knowledge gaps and a mentoring model to provide experience in caring for those enrolled on Medicaid. Students in nursing and social work are paired with same-discipline mentors in the field to gain hands-on experience in providing care to the Medicaid population. In addition to the field work, students attend a series of seminars addressing topics related to caring for Ohio’s Medicaid population. The MEDTAPP Mentor program is partially funded by the Medicaid Technical Assistance and Policy Program (MEDTAPP) through Ohio Department of Medicaid’s Healthcare Access Initiative and is focused upon better preparation of healthcare professionals to meet the unique needs of the Medicaid population. Students (mentees) participating in the program must agree to seek employment with providers that service the Medicaid population after completion of their healthcare professional education and training. A pilot project was implemented in the spring of 2013, with 43 students (mentees) from social work and nursing paired with social workers and nurses currently working with the Medicaid population in various settings in Northeastern Ohio. Students attended seminar sessions including: Description of Current Medicaid Programs and Qualifications for Enrollment on Each The Affordable Care Act and the Projected Impact on Care for the Underserved Quality Improvement Processes Issues Of Culture in Caring for the Medicaid Population Advocacy and the Medicaid Client Students applied principles learned in the seminar sessions to a field experience with a mentor. Nursing and social work students participated in over 1400 encounters with Medicaid clients in the duration of the program. Evaluations of the components of the program by the participants were positive. Funding was again continued for years two and three, with plans to include other health care disciplines in the project.