NCCARE360 Selected to Build a New Tool for a Healthier North Carolina– The NC Resource Platform

Today, the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI) announced the selection of NCCARE360 to build the North Carolina Resource Platform—a new statewide tool to make it easier for providers, insurers and community-based organizations to connect people with the community resources they need to be healthy.

The NC Resource Platform will be open at no cost to all North Carolinians, systems, payers, and providers.It will be a robust, integrated resource database, website, call center, and care coordination platform for clinicians, social workers, care coordinators, families and others to connect people to the community resources they need. Additionally, the platform will connect community-based organizations to each other across the State so they can collaborate, while allowing for the tracking of system-wide outcomes and supporting system improvement.

“We are excited to announce our partnership with NCCARE360 to develop the NC Resource Platform to change the trajectory of health for all North Carolinians,” says Anne Thomas, President & CEO of FHLI. “The Platform will connect health and community-based resource providers into a person-centered, coordinated, collaborative and accountable network that delivers value for all. NCCARE360 shares this vision, and their team is dedicated to creating one scalable coordinated solution to meet the needs of our communities.”

NCCARE360 is a joint-venture of United Way of North Carolina and its NC 2-1-1 information and referral system; Unite Us, the nation’s leading care coordination platform integrating healthcare and social services; Expound Decision Systems, a leader in business intelligence, system integrations, and data repositories and Benefits Data Trust, a national nonprofit that provides streamlined benefits enrollment assistance.

The NCCARE360 solution is a unified approach to delivering whole health care to NC residents. Each partner in this solution brings expertise in the following areas:

  • NC 2-1-1 has more than a decade of experience connecting individuals and families across NC to free and confidential information on local health and human services resources, through a simple dialing code 2-1-1, and a statewide resource database and call-center.
  • Unite Us provides a care coordination platform that allows healthcare providers, community-based organizations and others to work together securely in real-time.
  • Expound Decision Systems has created a successful data repository model for organizations in Ontario, which will be extended to manage resources specific to the Social Determinants of Health in NC.

“The NCCARE360 team has been working collaboratively to develop this business solution for many months. We have brought together our team of experts to build a model here in North Carolina that will be viewed as a national best practice. We are excited to join as one of many innovative partners with FHLI on this transformative work to improve health, not just healthcare, for all North Carolinians,” said Laura Zink Marx, President and CEO of United Way of North Carolina.

The NC Resource Platform is the result of a broad public-private partnership between FHLI, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, Aetna Foundation, UnitedHealth Group, Gateway Health, the North Carolina Medical Society, the North Carolina Health Care Association, the North Carolina Community Health Center Association, the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, the North Carolina Pediatric Society, Community Care of North Carolina, the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors, the North Carolina Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, No Kid Hungry NC, an initiative of the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, NC Alliance of YMCAs and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Planning for the implementation of the NC Resource Platform will begin soon, following final contract negotiations between FHLI and NCCARE360 partners. The statewide updated resource database is expected to be functional within the next 6 months. Rollout and the onboarding of providers and communities onto the referral platform is scheduled to start in the first communities this Fall. Onboarding and training on the referral platform will continue with the goal of achieving statewide reach in two years.

Contact: Rachel Presslein, MPA Operations & Development Manager rachel.presslein@foundationhli.org 919-821-0485 ext. 221


About the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation:

The Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI), founded in 1982, is a nonprofit organization from which programs and partnerships grow to improve health of the whole-person through a whole-community approach. FHLI is a home for programs, connecting them to collectively address health issues, and a convener for partners, creating an open environment to develop collaborative relationships and advance new ideas. Through this work, FHLI builds leadership, affects policy, shapes practice, and drives innovation to improve the overall health of communities in North Carolina and beyond. To learn more about FHLI, visit www.foundationhli.org.

About United Way of North Carolina:

United Way of North Carolina is the statewide member organization for 54 local United Way s and the statewide administrator of the NC 2-1-1 system. NC 2-1-1 provides North Carolina residents in all 100 NC counties with easy access to health and human services, government services, and disaster resources. The service is free, confidential, and available 24/7/365 in most languages by simply dialing 2-1-1 or visiting nc211.org.

About Unite Us:

Unite Us is a veteran-led technology company that builds coordinated care networks between health and human service providers. A replacement for legacy resource directories and single direction referrals, Unite Us networks digitally interconnect health and community providers, allowing them to fully integrate the social determinants of health into patients’ care, track their progress throughout their total health journey, and report tangible outcomes across a full range of services in a centralized, cohesive, and collaborative ecosystem.

About Expound Decision Systems:

Expound Decision Systems is a Canadian based firm specializing in strategy design and execution for government and non-profits in the justice, social services, health care, and labor market development sectors. Founder Andrew Benson utilizes his vast expertise and years of experience in the for profit, non-profit and public service sector to help organizations build capacity and manage change necessary to achieve strategic and operational results.

About Benefits Data Trust:

Benefits Data Trust (BDT) is a not-for-profit organization committed to transforming how individuals in need access essential benefits and services. BDT envisions an efficient, cost-effective health and human services system that proactively connects individuals and families to the supports they need so that people are healthier and more economically secure, and communities are stronger. BDT submits more benefit applications than any other organization in the country and has helped more than 650,000 individuals apply for benefits, securing more than $7 billion in benefits to help pay for food, shelter, heat, healthcare, and other essential services.