Cooper University Health Care is proud to announce that Jeffrey C. Brenner, MD, Medical Director of the Urban Health Institute, has been named one of the 2013 MacArthur Fellows by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for his work in developing new healthcare delivery models to meet the medical and social service needs of Camden residents,” said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO of The Cooper Health System.
Dr. Brenner is one of only 24 individuals nationwide to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, often referred to as a “genius grant,” one of the most prestigious awards. The Fellowship, which includes a $625,000 stipend over five years, is awarded to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.
“Dr. Brenner is extremely deserving of this high honor. He is a unique physician who combines Schweitzer-like compassion with the out-of–the-box thinking of a Steve Jobs,” said Sheridan. “He looked at how care was being delivered to the underserved here in Camden and created innovative approaches that are now being replicated around the nation.”
As a primary care provider determined to improve the lives of the sickest residents of Camden, Dr. Brenner constructed a searchable database and geographic mapping of discharge data from all patients at Camden’s hospitals and discovered that a very small number of patients consumed a large share of the overall costs of health care and social supports.
To address this issue, Brenner established the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, bringing together doctors in community-based private practices, frontline hospital staff and social workers across the city to participate in a strategy of comprehensive preventive and primary care. He designed a system that delivers daily information about hospitalizations to the Coalition and members of care management teams. Each team is made up of a registered nurse, one or two licensed practical nurses, a health coach and a social worker to support and help coordinate care for patients with complex medical, and often social, issues.
This model of cooperative care can reduce repeated emergency room visits and hospitalizations and lower health care costs.
Dr. Brenner is working with other communities across the country, including Allentown, Pennsylvania; Aurora, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri; and San Diego, California, on developing sustainable and accountable care systems based on the Camden model.