CONNECT has transformed from six siloed systems to an interconnected statewide network. Through grant funding and partnerships with the Office of Public Instruction, PacificSource, Linking Systems of Care, Partnership for Success, Overdose Data to Action, Children’s Trust Fund and others, the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is able to provide in-person support via CONNECT team members across Montana.
Our CONNECT Administrators are currently expanding CONNECT in 12 of our 14 regions. Please see our CONNECT team member locator map and interactive provider map.
The expansion of the CONNECT Electronic Referral System aims to foster statewide clinical-community linkages and inspire a collaborative culture among service providers in Montana.
All types of clinicians and other service providers are encouraged to utilize CONNECT to refer patients to community support services, as described in the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative’s definition of medical neighborhood:
The “medical neighborhood” is defined by the PCPCC as a clinical-community partnership that includes the medical and social supports necessary to enhance health, with the PCMH serving as the patient’s primary “hub” and coordinator of health care delivery. The goals of a high-functioning PCMH include collaborating with these various “medical neighbors” to encourage the flow of information across and between clinicians and patients, to include specialists, hospitals, home health, long term care, and other clinical providers. In addition, non-clinical partners like community centers, faith-based organizations, schools, employers, public health agencies, YMCAs, and even Meals on Wheels. Together these organizations can actively promote care coordination, fitness, healthy behaviors, proper nutrition, as well as healthy environments and workplaces. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) articulates that a successful medical neighborhood will “focus on meeting the needs of the individual patient, but also incorporate aspects of population health and overall community health needs.”
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