Nebraska Health Information Initiative and Unite Us Introduce Unite Nebraska: A Statewide Coordinated Care Network to address Social Determinants of Health

Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NEHII), a Health Information Exchange (HIE) joins forces with Unite Us, the technology company that connects health and social care providers, in a unique and innovative partnership that will transform service delivery and care coordination throughout Nebraska.

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Unite Us

Jun 16, 2020, 10:10 ET

OMAHA, Neb. and NEW YORK, June 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation continues to grapple with the immediate and long-term impact of COVID-19, NEHII and Unite Us have taken concrete steps to ensure that communities and individuals are able to get seamless access to much-needed resources, such as nutrition services, employment and benefits help and housing, through collaboration with local community-based organizations. This partnership will break down existing barriers between clinical and social care providers, enabling them to work together to provide comprehensive, whole-person care with trackable outcomes data.

Since 2008, NEHII has been committed to the secure transfer of patient clinical information among healthcare providers, emergency rooms, pharmacists and urgent care providers. Beyond the clinical care a person receives, NEHII understands that 80 percent* of a person's health is affected by social determinants of health (SDoH) – conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health and quality of life and risk outcomes. NEHII recognizes the critical need to incorporate community-based social care into that ecosystem, particularly in a rural state with geographic variations in access to critical services.

NEHII is focused on helping organizations that address SDoH to improve their workflows, track results metrics, avoid wasteful and repeated care and create a sustainable model for the long-term. In addition, NEHII believes it is critical to report on outcomes and the related financial impact on both communities and the healthcare system.

Unite Us is uniquely positioned to meet all those needs, with a person-centric platform and solution that provides transparency, accountability, outcomes data and seamless integration with partners' existing technologies.

Key priorities of Unite Nebraska include:

One common SDoH platform for everyone across the state
Integration into the existing HIE platform to prevent silos
Emphasis on employment and volunteering

"NEHII is delighted to back a statewide infrastructure that will enable better support to address risk areas that influence health outcomes for the people of Nebraska," says Jaime Bland, CEO of NEHII. "The SDoH system we are building with Unite Us will enable the improvement of population-level health outcomes by creating a resource and referral system to effectively address social determinants such as safe housing, access to food, community-based resources, and more. This is one more value-added service available to clinicians and service providers in our state through the NEHII population health utility."

"There's never been a more imperative time to build statewide infrastructure than right now, during the COVID-19 pandemic," says Taylor Justice, President of Unite Us. "This partnership will enable us to help Nebraskans as they adjust to the social and economic impact of the virus," he adds. "It's our honor and privilege to work with NEHII, who understands well the need for one holistic and integrated system to improve Nebraskans' health across the state," he adds. "We are excited to provide the state with their first golden record on individual Nebraskan needs by combining clinical and social care data in one secure location."

About NEHII:
NEHII's mission is to bring trust and value to health information technology by creating solutions for moving health data forward. NEHII, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a public/private governance model that includes health care providers, payers, and the State of Nebraska. NEHII is a statewide Health Information Exchange designed to share clinical and administrative data among providers in Nebraska and neighboring states. NEHII's purpose is to achieve health care transformation through community betterment collaboration while protecting the security and privacy of medical information. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

About Unite Us:
Unite Us is a technology company that builds coordinated care networks of health and social service providers. With Unite Us, providers across sectors can send and receive secure electronic referrals, track every person's total health journey, and report on tangible outcomes across a full range of services in a centralized, cohesive, and collaborative ecosystem. Unite Us' dedicated team builds authentic, lasting partnerships with local organizations to ensure their networks have a solid foundation, launch successfully, and continue to grow and thrive. This social infrastructure helps communities transform their ability to work together and measure impact at scale.
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* Hood, C. M., K. P. Gennuso, G. R. Swain, and B. B. Catlin. 2016. County health rankings: Relationships between determinant factors and health outcomes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 50(2):129-135.

SOURCE Unite Us