Implementing effective project management solutions to achieve Medicaid 1115 waiver goals

The Problem

The Community Care Collaborative (CCC) is a new community-based organization with accountable care principles committed to improving the quality of health care in Travis County, Texas. Much of the initial funding for the CCC will come from successful participation in Texas’ 1115 Medicaid Waiver. Achieving set project milestones and clinical outcomes is integral to the success of the CCC. Given the complexity of managing 15 different projects, the CCC needed an efficient approach to achieve the waiver milestones in a short amount of time.

The Solution

The CCC engaged COPE Health Solutions, as one of the few consulting organizations to have worked on the Texas waiver, to implement a project management office (PMO). The nature of the waiver requires a nimble team that can plan effectively in a constantly changing environment. COPE Health Solutions’ waiver team applied Agile methodology for project planning, particularly Scrumban, which encourages a team approach to projects. This process allows the project scope to change rapidly and frequently by placing emphasis on stakeholder involvement and communications.

Highlights of COPE Health Solution’s approach:

The project management team uses many tools in achieving key milestones, including:

1. Visual task boards indicating the team’s activities, current status and important blockers
2. Daily huddles of no more than 15 minutes to keep the team informed
3. Weekly retrospective reviews and planning sessions to align team members and readjust timelines/approach as necessary
4. Implementation of a Wiki site to share information with key stakeholders across multiple organizations

 Outcomes

• Achieved 100% of CCC’s project milestones for the second year of the waiver, worth $49.3 million in initial funds. A sample of achievements include:
• Integrated visual dashboards and scrum management into the CCC’s work processes
• Adopted effective project management tools for tracking DSRIP progress for the remaining three years of the waiver

“COPE Health Solutions was able to quickly synthesize and effectively implement the detailed requirements of the Texas 1115 Waiver in general and our highly complex DSRIP projects in particular.
They understood our larger mission and commitment to improving care for underserved populations, and brought determination supported by a strong work ethic to help us achieve our milestones.”

– Sarah Cook, Chief Operating Officer, Central Health