Through a collaborative effort with Encompass Family Health Home and partners across upstate New York, Catholic Charities of Buffalo is now a Children's Health Home Care Management provider in the region. As a Children's Health Home Care Management provider, Catholic Charities will work alongside a network of other providers, health plans and community-based organizations to both enroll children in Encompass Health Home and coordinate services for children and their families.

Encompass Children's Health Home is managed by Catholic Charities of Broome County, and is supported by the Dioceses of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany. In total, Encompass covers 48 counties in New York.

Catholic Charities' Children's Health Home Care Managers empower families to be involved in all decisions and planning, use the families' strengths and natural resources to move beyond any roadblocks, and provide the child with the best physical, mental, emotional and social health. Care managers ensure that children attend medical, dental, specialist or counseling appointments; link children and families with other services; and encourage children's provider teams to work together.

"Encompass, the Catholic Charities' sponsored Children's Health Home, will provide a comprehensive, coordinated response to children and families in Western New York," said Dennis C. Walczyk, Catholic Charities' chief executive officer. "If we can ensure that the physical, emotional and health needs of our area's most vulnerable children are addressed and met, we can help families flourish, and, in turn, create stronger communities."

Services are available to eligible children and their families. The child or young adult must be between the ages of birth to 21, enrolled in Medicaid and be diagnosed with at least two chronic health issues as identified by the New York State Department of Health; or the child must be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, serious emotional disturbance or complex trauma. In all cases, the family or caregiver must also display difficulty in meeting the child or young adult's health needs.

"Many families value our passion for advocating for child and family health, our expertise with coordinating services, our ability to link families with resources and our on-call support that is available 24 hours a day and seven days a week," said Meichle Latham, Catholic Charities Children's health home regional director.

As an Encompass Health Home provider, Catholic Charities will be able to both enroll children in Encompass Health Home and provide care management services. Catholic Charities' Care Management Team consists of Latham; Kasey Hayes, Health Home Care manager; Megan Sorce, Health Home Care manager; Tiffany Young, Health Home Care manager; and Gabrielle Montgomery, administrative assistant.

For more information on the Children's Health Home, contact Catholic Charities at 716-218-1400, or go to www.ccwny.org under the Services menu for the Children's Health Home tab. For more information on Encompass Family Health Home, visit www.encompasshealthhome.org.