medical legal partnership

What is a Medical Legal PartnerhsHip (MLP)?

MLPs integrate the unique experience of lawyers into health care settings to help clinicians and other health care personnel address structural problems at the root of health inequities. These same structural problems are often connected to Social Drivers of Health (SDOH), or the conditions beyond a clinical care setting that impact health and well-being (e.g., economic stability, safe housing). The Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association (WPHCA) MLP Pilot Project is funded through a Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) grant from 2024 to 2026.    

Learn more about MLPs from the National Center for Medical Legal Partnerships. 

 

What are the 2024 MLP Pilot Project Goals?

While Community Health Centers may already work with a legal partner for patient referrals, this project aims to systematize processes, add capacity, and develop a sustainable framework to address the civil legal needs of Community Health Center patients. It will:  

    1. Enhance Patient Financial Stability: Address unmet legal needs with partnership capacity

    2. Establish a Robust MLP System: Develop a sustainable, repeatable program design with an evidence-based foundation, expanding partnership scope and capacity

    3. Elevate Patient Voices: Integrate patient voices to influence program design and disseminate insights, amplifying patient experiences and influencing systems change

    4. Impact Community and System Factors: Utilize patient/client stories to drive awareness and identify opportunities for systems change, particularly in advancing racial equity

    Who is involved in the project? 

    1. Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association (WPHCA) is providing project management and administrative support.

    2. Community Health Centers (Lakeshore Community Health Care, Noble Community Clinics, and NorthLakes Community Clinic) will screen patients for legal needs and refer them to legal services.

    3. Legal Firms Judicare and Legal Action of Wisconsin provide civil legal services for participating CHC patients and training for staff and partners.

    4. Experts from University of Wisconsin-Madison are evaluating the pilot. 

    Key Contacts  

    WPHCA 

    If you want to learn more about the project, are interested in partnering, and/or have administrative questions, please reach out to Lieah Wilder or Kirstie Yu.  

    Community Health Centers 

    Legal services through the MLP Pilot Project are currently only available to patients at Lakeshore Community Health Care, Noble Community Clinics, and NorthLakes Community Clinic. If you’re a patient seeking legal services, please contact your Community Health Center. 

    • Lakeshore Community Health Care: 920-783-6633 
    • Noble Community Clinics: 800-942-5330 
    • NorthLakes Community Clinic: 715-372-5001 

    Resources

    For partners and Community Health Centers involved in the Medical Legal Partnership, please sign in to WPHCA’s members-only site to access Health Center Training and additional resources.

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