NewYork-Presbyterian, through its Columbia University Medical Center, will receive $4.5 million over five years from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to participate in the newly launched Accountable Health Communities Model, a government program designed to test various approaches to integrating medical care and community services.

The goal of the AHC Model is to improve health outcomes and reduce the total cost of care among Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

“The health of our patients is our primary concern, whether they are inside our hospital or in our communities,” Steven Corwin, MD, president and CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian, said in a statement. He added that the CMS grant would make it possible to find innovative ways to deliver care to underserved populations.

As part of the AHC, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia will serve as a bridge organization that will identify Medicare and Medicaid patients at high risk for health-related social needs, connect those patients to community-based organizations, and task those CBO partners to address health-related social needs in the Washington Heights-Inwood community.

The initiative is part of Track 3 of the country-wide AHC program.

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