History
ACCEL (Access El Dorado) was formally established in 2004 to serve as an umbrella initiative to coordinate and implement communitywide efforts to improve access to health care for residents of El Dorado County, particularly children and the uninsured. The groundwork for ACCEL began in 2002, following the completion of a community health needs assessment launched by the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors to guide the development of health initiatives to be funded by Tobacco Master Settlement funds. Building on this work, the Public Health Department secured a Healthy Communities Access Program grant of $1.8 million from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to improve access to medical care.
ACCEL accomplishments include: an Outreach and Enrollment campaign to encourage parents to enroll children in existing health coverage plans; increased the service capacity of the Federally Qualified Community Health Center and rural clinics; and instituted the utilization of CHWs to assist children and families with accessing health care services and navigating the health system. In 2004, ACCEL was subsequently awarded a $1.5 million multi-year from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to complete a Countywide technology needs assessment and technology strategic plan. The project resulted in ACCEL partners engaging in a rigorous process to research, plan and implement a centralized and shared web-based application to monitor and track ACCEL patients through a care pathway. Most recently, ACCEL was selected by the University of California, Davis and California Telehealth Network to be one of 15 Model eHealth Community grant recipients. The grants seeks to support select community across the state to become best-practice examples in the use and integration of technology to improve health and health care for its residents.