People in the Ballard area and King County now have access to a boarder WA community-building enterprise with Community Health Plan of Washington, Kaiser Permanente Washington and WAServes. The platform helps health plans connect people with community and social service organizations via technology to address social and mental health needs, especially necessary during COVID-19.

Community Health Plan of Washington (CHPW), Washington's local not-for-profit Medicaid (Apple Health) and Medicare managed care plan, announced a new partnership with Unite Us, a technology company focused on health outcomes, as a part of a broader community-building enterprise with Kaiser Permanente, WAServes and HealthierHere. The Unite Us platform creates a single space where CHPW can connect its members to local health, human, and social service organizations to address their broader health needs and better improve health outcomes. CHPW’s social services and care management staff can follow members’ care from healthcare providers to community agencies to ensure care is being delivered and that gaps in care between health and social needs are closed.

The fragmented landscape of health and social services often means that people aren’t receiving the total care they need to stay healthy, safe, and well. By building a public health infrastructure to meet people’s basic needs, Unite Us allows for collaboration, care coordination, and the ability to track member outcomes.

CHPW and the Unite Us partnership launched in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. There are a variety of social service organizations signed up on the Unite Us platform for this expanded geography, including Southwest Youth and Family Services.