Five Questions With: Lucy Rose

"Over the past several years, the agency has been awarded federal grant funds to support expansion and renovation of our East Providence location and the construction of a new, larger, state-of-the-art medical facility in Newport. "

Lucy Rose, a native Rhode Islander and vice president of human resources for the East Bay Community Action Program, has held the position since June of 2013. The program offers health and human services to the residents of Rhode Island’s East Bay including the municipalities of East Providence, Barrington, Warren, Bristol, Little Compton, Tiverton, Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport and Jamestown. Here she discusses the nonprofit’s recent growth.

PBN: The East Bay Community Action Program offers a wide array of health and human services. Which are used the most?
ROSE
: Programs include Head Start and Early Head Start programs; women, infant and children services; family development and case management services; youth programs; housing and energy assistance services; food pantries; emergency and transitional housing; employment training; rental assistance; 340B program; and an services for the elderly including case management, senior employment, and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.
Over the past several years, East Bay Community Action Program has enhanced its workforce, facilities, and infrastructure to expand access to care and services. We have grown into one of the state’s leading safety net providers and have made great strides in our efforts to become a comprehensive, fully integrated, healthcare and human services agency.
Our healthcare programs have seen the most growth in the number of patients receiving services at the health centers in East Providence and Newport, which has been attributed to Affordable Care Act. With more insurance coverage, more people are accessing services.

PBN: How is the nonprofit growing?
ROSE:
Over the past several years, the agency has been awarded federal grant funds to support expansion and renovation of our East Providence location and the construction of a new, larger, state-of-the-art medical facility in Newport. We have also expanded and renovated our dental center.
Another major service goal has been coordination of services through our new family centers in Newport and East Providence. Residents can visit our family centers and receive a full array of coordinated services under one roof. Staff is trained to offer a range of services and thus comes our service model – “There is no wrong door” at the agency. The emphasis on quality has attributed greatly to our growth in this area.

PBN: How have you tapped into employment opportunities and what has contributed to this growth?
ROSE:
The nonprofit prides itself on being a consumer driven multi-service agency that fully reflects and translates through its service delivery, the rich diversity of the communities it serves.
In 2014, Human Resources processed 121 new hires, rehires, and internal transfers, not including the Youth Center or Foster Grandparent programs. We had 16 internal transfers/promotions within the agency. Due to our programs expanding, we added 24 positions in 2014. This includes the Healthy Families America expansion, additional Pre-K classroom in Head Start, behavioral clinicians, and other program enlargements.
We are very committed to giving back to our professions and nurturing existing college partnerships.
We have hosted at least 10 social work interns in the past five years. After three semesters of extensive, hands on training several of them have secured full time positions here.
The agency has also trained and certified over 25 existing staff as patient navigators, which provide support for enrollment for Rhode Island’s Health Insurance Exchange. These, combined with the multitude of linkages and partnerships that have been created as a result of these programs, have allowed the organization to develop an integrated outreach, referral, and service network that has expanded access to services and improved care coordination.
We have a good track record in regards to maintaining a strong complement of staff that can respond to and serve their clients. Focus is placed on diversity, inclusion and engagement. We will continue to add programs that fit our mission to provide high-quality, comprehensive and accessible health and human services to assist people to achieve their fullest potential.

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PBN: How did the geographical focus on the East Bay evolve and will it remain the same as you continue to grow?
ROSE:
East Bay Community Action Program serves the east bay of Rhode Island. This geographical area came as a result of the merger of Self Help (serving the upper east bay) and New Visions (serving Newport County) in 2004. Now, the nonprofit serves all 10 cities and towns of the East Bay. The population in the 10 cities and towns that make up the East Bay consists of almost 20 percent of the state’s residents.
The agency has developed relationships with dozens of community-based providers and works closely with those organizations in order to complement, expand and, as needed, directly offer a wide reaching and full range of services.

PBN: What is on the horizon in the next one to five years?
ROSE:
The leadership of the nonprofit will continue to explore new partnerships and affiliations that will contribute to a fully integrated “family centric” delivery system of care that maximizes resources and reduces duplication of effort.
Our goal is to facilitate a more integrated and cost effective approach to care for the communities we serve by effectively immersing and incorporating primary care and supportive services in an easy to reach, welcoming community setting.
Including comprehensive behavioral health services will be critical in providing a full array of support to ensure best outcomes.

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