Frequently Asked Questions

CHAT stands for Community Health Action Teams, a program, administered by Elevate Health, for people who live in Pierce County.

The program provides fast, direct and personalized support and counsel to individuals who need help understanding and accessing different types of medical and social services.

CHAT is one of our central care coordination services. It shares that distinction with two other programs, Health Homes and Pathways Community HUB. Together, the three services form Elevate Health’s Care Continuum Network.

CHAT individuals should meet all of these requirements:

• They use the emergency room or the hospital frequently.

• They’re a hospital readmission risk because of chronic disease, behavioral health and/or substance use challenges.

• They have an infection related either to a chronic medical condition or IV drug use.

• They have risk(s) related to the social determinants of health (these are environmental factors — such as access to employment, education and food — that can become barriers to health and health care).

We work with several organizations to conduct CHAT.

Our Pilot Partners

• Sea Mar Community Health Centers (Clínica de la Comunidad) specializes in primary care family medicine and in serving the Latinx community. CHAT is housed at Sea Mar.
• MultiCare is a not-for-profit healthcare organization in Washington state that includes multiple hospitals and a network of primary care, urgent care and specialty services.

Our Referral Partners

• CHAT accepts individual referrals from a number of organizations, including health care providers, government agencies and community-based organizations, among others. CHAT is actively recruiting more partners.
  

Please contact care@elevatehealth.org or (253) 331-2380.

Your client will receive a full complement of care and assistance if they work with CHAT. CHAT includes a medical expert and a mental health expert as well as a community health worker. As a result, once you refer your patient to CHAT, the team will counsel them in three interrelated goals: pursuing further medical care, following up on behavioral health services, and finding resources related to other needs, such as employment, housing and much more.

Additionally, Elevate Health, which administers CHAT, serves as a locus for transforming health care and collecting health data in Pierce County. By founding programs like CHAT and tracking individuals’ progress, Elevate Health is able to track whether interventions — especially for vulnerable people — save and improve lives. By working with CHAT, you not only provide your client with a team approach to health, but you also help us reduce health inequities in Pierce County.

If you or someone you know might benefit from non-emergent care coordination services, please contact us at care@elevatehealth.org or call the Care Continuum Network referral line at (253) 331-2380.

If you or someone you know if suffering a life-threatening medical or behavioral health emergency, please call 9-1-1 for immediate assistance.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a non-life-threatening but urgent mental health crisis, call one of these 24/7 crisis lines:

Pierce County Crisis Line: 800-576-7764

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255