News

Sep 27, 2018

Community Action Akron Summit was recently awarded $63,800 from the Huntington-Akron Foundation to upgrade technology, infrastructure and operations for Pathways HUB, a network of six care coordination agencies employing community health workers to serve high-risk pregnant women with a goal of preventing infant mortality in Summit County. 

Pathways HUB is an evidence-based model that addresses the social determinants of health and improves health outcomes. HUB is focused on improving access to primary care and eliminating social disparities such as poverty, socioeconomic status, access to healthcare and other issues that attribute to poor birth outcomes. Community health workers serve a key role in the model and input data and outcomes into a shared data system managed by Community Action Akron Summit.

The dollars from this grant will specifically be used to redesign the HUB’s server hardware and technology, upgrade building security, enhance the phone system and purchase specialized software to meet HIPAA regulations. The upgrades comply with federal regulations and meet the contractual requirements with Medicaid-managed care organizations, which include responsibility for HIPAA compliance for Community Action and its HUB partners.  

“We are grateful to The Huntington-Akron Foundation for its significant investment in the HUB infrastructure,” said Malcolm J. Costa, president and CEO of Community Action Akron Summit. “This grant will allow us to expand our efforts to benefit underserved Summit County families and continue to build important relationships that are critical to the success of the HUB network.”

Community Action Akron Summit serves as a key partner in the program, negotiating contracts with Medicaid-managed care providers for these services and managing a shared data system to track information and outcomes entered by community health workers. HUB also leverages community partnerships that improve health outcomes as well as provide centralized billing for Medicaid services on behalf of the network. 

“The Huntington-Akron Foundation is committed to improving lives and strengthening neighborhoods within the City of Akron, and we are pleased to support the work of Community Action Akron Summit in doing the same,” stated Nick Browning, president of Huntington’s Akron region. “Community Action is improving lives through its programs and in its lead role with the Pathways Community HUB. Thank you, Community Action Akron Summit.”