Accomplishments, June 2008


Increased Enrollment
At the time of our launch in 2004, our goal was to cover all uninsured Santa Cruz County children, estimated at 5,000 kids. Of these, it was estimated that 2,300 would be eligible for Healthy Kids and 2,700 would be eligible for Healthy Families or Medi-Cal. Since that time, we’ve significantly overreached our goal:

Enrollment data June 2004 - June 2008	Individual Children enrolled (unduplicated)	# of Annual Enrollments by CAAs
Healthy Kids	3,206	6,657
Healthy Families	5,136	8,090
Medi-Cal	1,601	1,710
Total	9,943	16,457

According to a recent report by Children Now, 98% of Santa Cruz County's children are covered, ranking us second in the State with regard to insured children.

Increased Access and Cost Savings
While evaluations of Healthy Kids programs in other counties have shown our model increases access, improves parent confidence, and reduces missed school days, Santa Cruz County-specific evaluations show:

• Well Child visits for 3 to 6-year olds increased by more than 18% since 2005, putting our program above the 90th percentile for national Medicaid standards. [1]

• Adolescent Well Care increased by over 15% since 2005 (putting us just under Medicaid’s 90th percentile) a strong performance in an age group that is typically resistant of any kind of preventative care. [2]

• Data for Children’s Access to Primary Care Practitioner and Outpatient Visits per Thousand Member Months show that Healthy Kids members are making good use of primary care services; they are assigned to a medical home and are utilizing it. This is also evidenced by relatively low acute visits (ED and Inpatient). [3]

• According to a 2008 study by USC, between 2000 and 2005, Santa Cruz, along with eight other California counties operating a Healthy Kids program, showed a 25% reduction in preventable hospitalizations per year. Thus, 1,050 hospitalizations were prevented annually for asthma, bacterial pneumonia, gastroenteritis and dehydration and other events. This resulted in collective cost savings of over $7 million per year. [4]

Fundraising
Since our launch in 2004, Santa Cruz County has secured nearly $10.5 million for the Healthy Kids program. Of that, almost $7.7 million dollars has been contributed by local County sources. Annual leadership support has been provided by our County’s Board of Supervisors ($600,000 per year) and our local First 5 Commission (over $900,000 per year). We’ve also received consistent – and growing – support from local foundations, hospitals, individuals and businesses who increasingly view Healthy Kids as a community asset which is having a direct impact on the health and well-being of local children. Click here for a full list of Healthy Kids donors.

An Enduring Coalition
Santa Cruz County’s Healthy Kids coalition is led by the same 14 organizations that first designed and launched the program in 2004. Leaders from each organization contribute their time on a pro bono basis to oversee the program, approve policies, serve on one or more oversight committees, participate in advocacy-related activities, and provide financial contributions both via their organizations and personally.

Catholic Charities of the Monterey Diocese	Health Improvement Partnership
Central Coast Alliance for health	Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust
Community Foundation of SC County	Santa Cruz County Medical Society
SC County Health Services Agency	Sutter Santa Cruz
SC County Human Services Department	Greg Timm, Sinclair Insurance
Dominican Hospital	United Way of Santa Cruz County
First 5 Santa Cruz County	Watsonville Community Hospital
Health Care Outreach Coalition