Social Work Leadership as Ambassadors of Health Care Reform: Developing and Implementing a Health Home Program Within a Large Urban Health System

Beginning in 2011, The Mount Sinai Hospital participated in the New York State Department of Health Medicaid Health Home (HH) program, evolving into what is now the Mount Sinai Health Home (MSHH). The lead HH designation required social work leadership to develop and implement this initiative within a large health system, consisting of five New York City area hospitals. Additionally, strategic partnerships with sub-contracted, community based organizations and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) were essential to the HH’s success, and were facilitated by inter- and intra-organization collaboration. This article provides an overview of the HH model and discusses the process by which MSHH was formed, the integral role of social work in its development and success, challenges and lessons learned, and recommendations for the development of the profession’s future workforce. The authors intend to leave the reader with a model of social work leadership within the current environment of health care reform, and to exemplify social work care coordination and engagement of a hard to reach patient population.