News

We are happy to welcome eight new members to the MLP Network Advisory Council!

Congratulations to Paula Gomez and David Hall of the Medico-Legal Partnership of RioGrande Valley, who were honored by the White House Champions of Change program!

We are now accepting session proposals for the 2012 MLP Summit! All are invited to submit proposals on any aspect of medical-legal partnership – from ways to strengthen and sustain core activities to innovations for specific populations. Proposals are due November 4, 2011 to MLPSummit2012@gmail.com.

Mark Your Calendars for the 2012 MLP Summit! The 7th annual MLP Summit, “MLP: Innovative Solutions for a Healthier Community,” will take place March 26-27, 2012 in San Antonio, TX. Join MLP practitioners and other leaders in the healthcare and legal communities as we explore themes including quality of care, transforming health and legal practices and new innovations in MLP.

Do you know someone doing exceptional work who works hard to improve health or access to health care in his or her community? Or someone who has solved a daunting community health problem? If so, nominate your local health hero for a 2012 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders award.

The first law to establish standards for implementing MLP in New York has been signed by Gov. Cuomo. Congratulations to the NY State Coalition of MLPs and LegalHealth for their work on this effort!

It is our pleasure to announce that the outstanding team at the Medico-Legal Partnership RioGrande Valley in Brownsville, TX has been selected for the White House Champions of Change program, which honors innovative individuals working on behalf of their communities.

The MLP for Health Act was introduced on September 22, 2011 by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Daniel Inouye (D-HI). We would like to thank the MLP Network for their outstanding advocacy efforts, as well as our many partners that have helped to make this opportunity a reality!

The National Center would like to commend the Medical-Legal Bay Area Regional Coalition (M-BARC) and West Coast MLPs on a wonderful conference! Nearly 150 members of the healthcare and legal communities attended the first West Coast MLP Conference, held on September 16 at UC Hastings School of Law.

A reminder for upcoming conference calls, and thank you to those who submitted applications for membership to the new NAC.

NPR Boston discusses how MLP and other programs expand the definition of healthcare. Listen to the broadcast or read the article.

As part of our commitment to an open and transparent process, we will be providing Special MLP Updates every other week with information around the National Center's current transition.

The National Center is thrilled to announce the release of a new textbook on MLP!

The National Center is thrilled to announce the release of the first-ever textbook on MLP, "Poverty, Health & Law: Readings and Cases for Medical-Legal Partnership." Featuring contributions from more than 60 leaders across the MLP Network, the textbook includes discussions, best practices and case examples for health and legal practitioners serving vulnerable populations nationwide.

As of August 3, 2011, a new non-profit corporate entity has been established for the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. Read more about this exciting transition, and what it means for MLP!

Please join us in saluting Brandy Gonzales, MLP Network Coordinator, as she heads to law school this fall.

What do you get when you put a doctor and a lawyer on the same medical case? When they team up in a medical-legal partnership, such as the Community Advocacy Program, a partnership between The MetroHealth System and The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, you get “more effective health outcomes for the patient-client,” said Legal Aid staff attorney Katie Feldman, who has been on the partnership team since last year and with Legal Aid for four years.

The need for pediatric advocates is particularly acute in Southside San Francisco, where many of the City’s children are being raised with significant health challenges—such as asthma, obesity, and violence—that arise from deeply entrenched social and economic inequalities.

On July 14, 2011 Governor Pat Quinn signed into law amendments to the Illinois School Code (P.A. 97-123) ensuring a student’s ability to maintain his or her academic performance and standing via continued instruction during extended and intermittent medical absence and recovery periods. Home Hospital Instruction (HHI) mandates provision of regular educational and special educational instruction and special educational related services in the home or hospital to students where their medical provider anticipates the student being out of school for two or more consecutive weeks or on an ongoing intermittent basis due to chronic illness or other medical condition.

Medical and legal champions from Health Law Partnership, an MLP in Atlanta, GA, write about providing integrated care by adding lawyers to the healthcare team.