The first café provides a brief overview of key topics, major frameworks, and emerging trends to advance the quality of life and well-being of CMC and their families through federal, state, and local initiatives. We take a deep dive into participants’ questions and insights into the care of CMC and together consider actionable strategies, resources, and leverage points for change.
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View presentation slides here.
Discussants
Cara Coleman, JD, MPH
Founder, The Bluebird Way Foundation and Principal, Bluebird Consulting, LLC
Cara Coleman is principal at Bluebird Consulting and Founder/ Director of The Bluebird Way Foundation committed to using storytelling and narrative medicine to humanize health care and health profession education. Cara is the author of I Am Justice, Hear Me Roar about her daughter Justice who had disabilities and medical complexity and died at age 11. She is the Associate Editor for Family Partnerships, Executive Editorial Board of Pediatrics and an Instructor of Medical Education at UVA Medicine INOVA Campus.
Meg Comeau, MHA
Senior Project Director and PI, Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, Boston University
Meg Comeau, MHA is a senior project director at the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH). She is a nationally recognized expert on the impact of Medicaid and federal health care reform for children with special health care needs, medically complex conditions, and disabilities. She brings more than 15 years of health care delivery and financing experience to her role as principal investigator for the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (CoIIN) to Advance Care for Children with Medical Complexity (CMC) and as principal investigator of the Catalyst Center, a project focused on improving insurance coverage and financing of care for children and youth with special health care needs
Bethlyn Houlihan MSW, MPH
Project Director and Co-PI, Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, Boston University
Bethlyn Vergo Houlihan, MSW, MPH, brings a unique blend of skills in her dedication to social justice and health equity, partnering with youth/adults with complex health and social needs, their families, and communities to address systemic inequalities to improve health and well-being. Bethlyn’s projects span across intervention design, implementation, and evaluation, as well as workforce development, interprofessional education, and strategic partnerships to drive sustainable innovation in health and social services delivery. Currently, Bethlyn serves as a Project Director at the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health at the Boston University School of Social Work, notably as Co-Principal Investigator of The Future of Care for CMC Virtual Café Series. Bethlyn co-edited the recent supplement in Pediatrics (Jan 2024), sharing insights and best practices from the Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network to Advance Care for Children with Medical Complexity (CMC CoIIN).