Health and Homelessness System Integration: Philanthropy’s Role

Heidi L Behforouz, M.D. Physician leader, consultant, and clinician has focused her career on the health issues of vulnerable populations. She is currently Medical Director of Housing for Health (HFH) at the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LAC DHS) - the second-largest safety net provider in the United States. Here, she oversees the county’s clinical initiatives to improve the health and wellness of the largest homeless population in the country.

At LAC DHS, she has also served as the Medical Director for the Care Connection Program, a primary care clinic-anchored complex care management program that connected community health workers to care management teams within the medical home. She also led the Primary Care Resource Center’s efforts to enhance complex care management team efforts in the medical homes and launch a shared care management platform to facilitate shared work plans and communication between PCMH staff.

She is a board-certified internist who trained at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She is a past recipient of research grants from the National Institutes of Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration and Office of Minority Health and has used this funding to study the impact of community-based complex care interventions in improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable individuals in urban settings. She currently practices primary care at the STAR clinic in Skid Row, Los Angeles.

She is Founder and past Executive Director of Partners In Health’s Prevention and Access to Care and Treatment (PACT) project in Boston, Massachusetts

Dr. Behforouz continues to provide consultation in complex care management to accountable care organizations, managed care organizations, health departments, and community-based organizations around the country. Dr. Behforouz is committed to the transformation of primary care to better serve the needs of the most vulnerable patients in our communities and has been privileged to champion the role of community health workers in effecting lasting change in our health care delivery system and health of our communities.

Jen Vanore is the Presdient and Chirf Operating Officer of UniHealth Foundation. Established in 1998, UniHealth Foundation is an independent private healthcare foundation committed to being a pace-setter in health philanthropy, while provoking and sustaining changes that positively impact health outcomes. Jen joined UniHealth Foundation in 2015 as a Senior Program Officer, having previously served as Program Manager for The California Endowment’s Center for Healthy Communities. Jen received her M.A from Yale University and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, where her research focused on the social, economic, and political development of the hospital industry in Los Angeles County. She was promoted to President & COO in 2018 and is responsible for overseeing nearly $15 million in annual grantmaking, as well as the day-to-day functions of the foundation. She also works closely with the UniHealth Board of Directors to support innovative new programs and services to improve population and community health outcomes throughout Southern California. Her community service has included serving as a Commisioner for the City of Pasadena on their Recreation and Parks Commisison and serving on the Pasadena Recreation and Parks Foundation. She believes deeply in advancing the next generation of of nonprofit leaders and volunteers as a mentor for EPIP, as well as teaching annually at SCG’s Fundamentals of Grantmaking.

Cheryl Winter brings to her work a deep knowledge of supportive housing and healthcare integration with significant experience in cross sector partnerships, Medi-Cal benefit design, implementation and provider capacity building. Cheryl’s work in California focuses on the integration of supportive housing services with healthcare systems, promoting racial equity and lived expertise in supportive housing quality improvement efforts, and CalAIM housing-related Community Supports implementation TA.