Eastern Plumas Health Care (EPHC), a nonprofit critical-access hospital district serving Plumas County, is committed to delivering high-quality, equitable care to its community. As the organization expanded its California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Enhanced Care Management (ECM) benefit, leaders recognized that their internal systems — originally designed for a smaller number of members — were straining under rapid growth. To support expansion without reinventing its approach, EPHC turned to the Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Technical Assistance (TA) Marketplace.
A Partnership Built on Expertise and Trust
Following a competitive vetting process, EPHC selected 43 Strategic Consulting (43SC) as their TA partner because of their significant CalAIM expertise and ability to join a project already underway.
“We didn’t need help to get started; we needed experts to help us refine and fix our systems,” said Joanna Garneau, Director of Population Health at EPHC. “43SC shouldered our concerns and helped us find workable solutions. They were deeply invested in the work, staying realistic while ensuring every one of our goals was met.”
From Manual Processes to a Scalable System
The six-month engagement focused on improving efficiency and preparing the ECM program for growth. As reporting needs expanded, EPHC staff found themselves duplicating documentation and relying on time-consuming manual processes.
Working together, 43SC and EPHC initially planned to integrate ECM workflows into EPHC’s Cerner Community Works system. To bridge the gap, 43SC designed a custom interim reporting tool. The turning point came when the EPHC team realized that the interim tool fully met their needs — transforming what felt like the start of a long system overhaul into the final steps of adopting a strong, scalable solution.
Just as importantly, 43SC helped build organization-wide buy-in. By interviewing each team member about their workflows, they ensured the new processes reflected real-world needs that had broad internal support.
“43SC was incredibly hands-on and available whenever we needed them,” said Garneau. “They weren’t afraid to raise a flag if we were heading down the wrong path, keeping us on task and focused. Because of this partnership, we transitioned from feeling weighed down by the process to being empowered by it.”
Results: From Implementation to Innovation
The improvements were immediate and meaningful. Staff reduced administrative burden, set dedicated times for proactive outreach, and improved their ability to respond to community needs. With streamlined operations, EPHC is now positioned to increase the members it serves, enhance care quality, and invest in staff development. Leadership is exploring new service lines, such as Community Health Workers. The success of this work was recently highlighted in the Plumas Sun.
Thanks to the PATH TA Marketplace and guidance from 43SC, EPHC successfully restructured its CalAIM operations. The organization is now prepared to expand its impact and deliver high-touch, high-quality care to more community members.
Would free coding and billing, client outreach and enrollment, program development, CalAIM implementation and monitoring, and other technical assistance services help your organization meet its Medi-Cal needs?