FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Contact:

Nancy Erickson, Principal
New Solutions, Inc.
732-418-3234
http://www.newsolutionsinc.com

New Solutions, Inc. Releases Important Community Health Planning Tool

New Solutions, Inc.’s Community Health Index (CHI) allows healthcare professionals to quickly, easily, and cost effectively evaluate the health care needs of their community. Using ZIP Code level detail, the CHI identifies at-risk populations, disease and utilization patterns to reduce financial risks and set benchmarks for improved community health status.

New Brunswick, NJ (February 17, 2010) – New Solutions, Inc. has developed an index for New Jersey that allows communities to identify populations with health risks, diseases and high healthcare utilization patterns at the local level.  The CHI is a critical tool for primary care providers, hospitals, community leaders and public health professionals as they work with the public to identify how healthcare services are currently used and to set priorities for where to most effectively allocate funds and services. The CHI can be used to graphically demonstrate where pockets of the highest need lie within a service area, county or region of the State. 

The CHI supports and augments the County Health Rankings, released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin.  These rankings broadly frame the health status of large population segments. The CHI goes an extra step by providing ZIP Code level detail on specific diseases and resource use.  This focuses strategies to needed areas within a community, identifying their unique circumstances and addressing their specific healthcare needs.

“Our clients are working hard to improve their communities’ health with fewer available resources and increased accountability. We developed the CHI to provide them with an easy-to-use, inexpensive tool to support these efforts.” said Nancy Erickson, NSI Principal. 

The CHI provides communities and healthcare providers with truly actionable information that drives effective strategies for improving the health of our communities, such as identifying where high concentrations of potentially avoidable emergency room visits exists – characteristics which may be indicative of a shortage of primary care providers or other access issues. 

About New Solutions, Inc.:

New Solutions, Inc. (NSI) is a management consulting firm offering a broad base of services tailored to meet the diverse and changing needs of health care providers.  The firm offers a full array of health care consulting  services including:  development and implementation of strategic and service line plans, business development and marketing plans, community needs assessments, decision support software, clinical performance monitoring software, medical staff strategic development, outcomes measurement and monitoring and regulatory compliance activities.

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