Healthier Austin initiative
Dear Central Health Board of Managers:
Staff will present information to the Central Health Board of Managers for consideration at our January 24th Board of Managers meeting of whether and how to participate in the Healthier Austin initiative proposed by Mayor Watson. While this initiative presents an exciting opportunity for collaboration, initiative details will require full Board review and approval. The City is proposing to contract with McKinsey & Company to conduct a Comprehensive Review (“Review”) of existing strategies, programs, and services provided by the City, County, Central Health and Integral Care to serve people experiencing homelessness. The city has requested that each entity participate in the Review and pay a portion of the Review costs. The primary purpose of the Review is to create an inventory of each entity’s services and programs to inform discussions about how best to collaborate and leverage opportunities to work together most effectively in serving this population. The Review is also intended to provide information so that the participating organizations could collaborate to align strategies and collaboratively create an Action Plan for future work together in support of serving people experiencing homelessness.
The city is posting contract approval by the City Council on their January 18th agenda – approval of the City’s contract with McKinsey and approval of ILAs with each entity for participation. I wanted to make sure you were aware that Central Health has let the Mayor and other entities know that Central Health cannot commit to participation or any funding without full Board discussion and approval. In response to the City’s request, staff has provided initial comments to the city’s recommended ILA and Scope of Work with Central Health. The Board remains responsible for decision making about the terms of any Agreement.
The Board will be briefed on all the details of the City’s proposed agreements at the January 24th meeting including Central Health’s comments, as well as any related legal issues for Central Health. Please reach out to Perla Cavazos and Monica Crowley if you would like more details prior to the meeting. They will be prepared to provide more detail, answer your questions, and help identify issues for the Board to discuss.
I am sending out this email to bring this important opportunity to your attention, so you can come prepared to discuss on January 24th and are not surprised by any discussion of the city’s posting you may see in the press.
Best Regards
Ann Kitchen