Posted May 1, 20243:25 pm
By Jill Sell
A Boston pediatrician was treating children for asthma, an inflammatory disease of the airways of the lung for which there is no known cure. Symptoms can be lessened, however, and the physician was prescribing medicine and other treatments. But the doctor also knew asthma was caused by both genetic and environmental reasons, including reactions to allergy and pollution-causing substances.
“The doctor realized that as long as these kids were going home to poor housing conditions, they weren’t going to get any better. He had that ‘aha moment.’ In addition to medical care, these kids and their families needed legal help to improve their living environment,” says Katie Feldman, managing attorney, Health and Opportunity Practice Group, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland.
That realization is given major credit for starting the medical–legal partnership movement in the United States. According to the National Center for Medical Legal Partnerships, last year the collaboration helped more than 75,000 patients resolve legal issues that impeded good health. According to the organization, “when legal expertise and services are used to address social needs, people with chronic illnesses are healthier and admitted to the hospital less frequently, saving health care costs.”
In Northeast Ohio, The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland is celebrating its 20-year anniversary of establishing a medical–legal partnership with the MetroHealth System. Known as the Community Advocacy Program, the partnership was formalized in 2003. It was the first medical–legal partnership in Ohio and the fourth in the United States, according to Karen Cook, director, Healthy Families and Thriving Communities, and interim president, MetroHealth’s Institute for H.O.P.E (Health, Opportunity, Partnership, Empowerment).
Legal Aid attorneys assist patients referred by medical and social work staffs at five different MetroHealth locations. Those include the Main Campus Pediatrics, Old Brooklyn Health Center, Ohio City Health Center, Buckeye Health Center and Broadway Health Center.
Lawyers handle a wide variety of issues that affect patients’ health. Those can include housing conditions such as water leaks that create mold and also rodent and pest infestations. Legal Aid also helps with educational and special needs issues, evictions, immigration concerns, transportation barriers, older adult situations and more. In 2023, Legal Aid managed 348 MetroHealth cases, impacting more than 1,000 total household members, according to Cook.
Nine Legal Aid attorneys and multiple paralegals are involved with medical–legal partnerships at medical facilities across Cleveland. In addition to MetroHealth, the legal organization works with St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center, University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic. The Cleveland Clinic partnership began in 2022 with pediatric patients at the Main Campus and now has expanded services to the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center.
In addition to meeting with patients, Legal Aid attorneys conduct training for medical personnel to identify problems that may benefit from legal interventions. Its Curbside Consults also assist patients and medical staff when a more complex legal court case is not needed. Funding for the medical–legal partnerships is primarily provided by law firms, health care institutions and philanthropy.
“About 80% of a person’s health is impacted by what happens outside the doctor’s office because of social drivers, or social determinates,” says Feldman. “It is incredibly effective to work with health care providers who spot issues and who make these referrals to Legal Aid to try to resolve related legal problems. It’s a team approach and much more effective than just handing someone a card and saying, ‘Here’s the number of an attorney.’ You never know if someone makes that call or not.”
Source: Cleveland Magazine - Legal Aid's Community Advocacy Program Fights for Healthy Homes