St. David's Community Health Foundation collaborated with the University of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs on a 2005-2006 Policy Research Project. The project examined ways to reduce uncompensated hospital care by changing the delivery of health services.

Dr. David Warner and fifteen students from the LBJ School of Public Affairs worked with St. David’s Community Health Foundation staff to research and investigate cost containment strategies for community-based health services which can decrease the cost of providing hospital-based care to patients without insurance. This work will form the basis for some future Foundation funding initiatives.

Some of the more promising strategies- integrated mental health programs, homeless respite care, and 21-day post discharge clinics- were described and debated in a one-day conference with national and local experts in March 2006. If you would like to see the conference brochure, please click here.

There are three Web videos of highlights from the conference: click here for "Demand Reduction" featuring Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner Eduardo Sanchez; click here for "Texas Perspectives" featuring presentations from Memorial Hermann Healthcare System ( Houston), CareLink (San Antonio) and the University of Texas System; and click here for "Initiatives that Work," featuring presentations on increasing mental health services, respite care for the homeless, and 21-day post-discharge clinics.

The conference proceedings and research papers are now available for download:
Policy Research Project Report
Care that Pays for Itself (PRP Summary)
Conference Transcript, June 12
Conference Transcript, June 13

Please e-mail Kellie Shellaby to order a hard copy of any of these materials.