Third Sector Participates in GHHI’s Executive Leadership Institute

By Nadia Ahmed

On August 28th, Third Sector was invited to the 7th annual Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) Executive Leadership Institute in Austin, TX. For the first time, the two-day conference, in addition to its sessions on the latest in the green and healthy housing movement, offered a parallel set of sessions on Pay for Success (PFS). This brought together government, foundations, providers, evaluators, and organizations with PFS expertise to discuss how such an innovative contracting model can work in the lens of healthcare.

Third Sector participated in a panel titled “Post Feasibility -- Lessons from Launched Transactions” along with Stephanie Mercier of the Corporation for Supportive Housing and Tyler Jaeckel of the Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab. With GHHI’s projects moving full steam ahead on gathering healthcare data, engaging with end payers, and thinking critically about how to scale programs, we dove into some of the anticipated challenges.

Questions about engaging stakeholders, making a smooth transition from feasibility to project construction, and lessons learned from existing projects were of special interest. It was clear that pilot programs for healthcare-related PFS projects that test the program impact, service delivery processes, or payment mechanisms are highly valuable. Attendees were curious about Third Sector’s engagement with the Alameda County Asthma PFS Initiative, which has launched a pilot program to serve over 250 pediatric asthma patients by combining the existing services of two different government agencies.

We had the opportunity to participate in office hours with some of GHHI’s sites, all of which are currently working on asthma-related PFS projects. With the growing PFS field, these sites and many others like them have learned how to engage funders, identify and scale their interventions, and price outcomes.

This conference was an opportunity to celebrate accomplishments, learn from other projects, and exchange best practices. It also is a testament to the growing passion for outcomes orientation across the country, especially as it relates to improving the health and well-being of our local communities. We look forward to seeing GHHI’s progress in integrating evidence-based practices into healthcare!

For more information, please contact her at nahmed@thirdsectorcap.org.