The PIC Place (Partners in Integrated Care)

The PIC Place, a nonprofit organization, is a fully integrated healthcare center in Montrose, CO offering comprehensive and integrated primary, dental, behavioral health, vision and physical therapy along with educational programs for members of the community. Services are limited to patients with incomes at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. No patients are ever denied care because of the complexity of their medical issues or their ability to pay. In fact, most of the 8,000 patients served are considered medically complex and have a variety of social factors that impact their health.

To address the needs of its patients, improve the quality of care, and foster patient and family engagement (PFE), The PIC Place relies heavily on active partnerships between its multidisciplinary team of providers and patients themselves. Together, they develop shared care plans that first identify the patient’s vision of health through answering the question, “What does the best vision of your health look like?” This vision then guides the development of chronological objectives and identifies perceived obstacles to the vision as well as strategies to overcome them.

The PIC Place developed the pictorial care plan, “Journey to Health,” as a way to engage and empower patients in their own health and wellness. The goals are labeled as mile markers along the road to wellness and visually show forward progress from behavioral changes. Regular review of the care plan provides additional opportunities for patient engagement and partnership with providers toward a shared goal for success.

The PIC Place’s Patient and Family Advisory Council started in 2018. The twelve-member council includes staff and patient/family advisors recruited as representative patients who receive services throughout the clinic. The Council meets bi-monthly and provides input into workflows, patient experience, community perception, outreach strategies, and overall quality improvement.

PFAC Member, Barbara Daluca, recently wrote a letter of support for a PIC grant application. She shared, “I started to go there (PIC) for counseling for some major problems in my life. I have the best counselor anyone can ask for. They (PIC) have time for me. Take into consideration if you needed a place to go for help, whether for a doctor, eye care, dental needs and, most of all, mental health needs. The PIC Place is that place for you and your loved ones to go for help. It is one of a kind.”

With this level of PFE, The PIC Place has been able to both improve clinical outcomes and reduce the cost of care.