Whole Person Care

Whole Person Care (WPC) seeks to address the physical, mental health, substance use, and social needs of eligible clients. This is done by strengthening collaboration across divisions and with county and community partners. WPC further enables San Mateo Health to empower staff to provide services relevant to the whole person. WPC augments existing programs to enhance service capacity and funds additional staff to extend serves. Ultimately, it serves to support the coordination of health, behavioral health, and social services for the most vulnerable clients with complex needs. WPC is guided by 7 key values:  Providing stage wise patient-centered care; harm reduction; shared decision-making; acuity sensitivity; being trauma-informed; non-stigmatizing practice; and being culturally relevant.

Whole Person Care has three primary target populations, within the group of persons who have high Emergency Department utilization and have high acuity needs that it seeks to serve

Target population 1: Individuals with serious mental illness who are at risk of acute hospitalization or extended stays in residential treatment, mental health rehabilitation centers, and skilled nursing facilities.

Target population 2: Individuals whose untreated Substance Use Disorder interferes with their capacity to manage their medical and behavioral conditions and stay connected to care.

Target population 3: Individuals with any of the above as well as conditions including homelessness, unstable housing, recent jail discharge, or complex medical conditions. Often, these clients are typically not connected to primary care and require a sustained, field-based effort to stay engaged.

Individuals within these target groups may be transition-aged-youth (18 - 24), adults and older adults. Through a balanced program of proactive collaborative interventions and crisis management, our goal is to serve 2000 individuals annually and 5000 individuals over the course of four years.