Robert Wood Johnson Foundation cites MLP | Boston and NCMLP as exemplars of innovative programs connecting patients to key resources

In a new set of health recommendations titled “Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America,” the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation notes the work of MLP | Boston and the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership (in their former joint state as the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children):


Action Steps for Health Care Providers

Health care providers, particularly those whose patients and families are low-income or live in disadvantaged rural or urban communities, are on the front lines in addressing health problems related to inadequate food and nutrition, exposures and hazards in the home, and substance abuse. Many low-income families seeking medical care have multiple resource needs.

While they may enter a clinic or physician's office for treatment of an urgent problem such as respiratory illness, conditions in their home often exacerbate their illness or prevent recovery.

Clinicians are in a unique position to identify vulnerable families. In partnership with programs and agencies that offer legal or social services counseling and advocacy, health care providers can help families address homelessness, help paying for groceries and school meals, utility bills, and landlord remediation of safety and health problems in the home. Examples of programs that connect patients with services and resources in the greater community are the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children and Project Health.


To read the full set of recommendations, please click here for pre-publication copy.