NEW YORK — Independence Care System (ICS), designated by New York State as the expert in supporting individuals with physical disabilities, today announces a key partnership with the Brooklyn Health Home (BHH), a New York State Medicaid Health Home that provides comprehensive care management in Brooklyn.

BHH coordinates a network of 18 care management agencies (CMAs), overseeing strategic and administrative needs while CMAs provide direct, on-the-ground support to community members. In joining BHH’s CMA network ICS brings its deep disability-focused care expertise to a high-performing, community‑embedded system, thereby:

• Enhancing access for Brooklyn residents with complex needs
• Embedding disability‑competent care within Brooklyn’s established Medicaid care infrastructure
• Improving health outcomes while supporting members’ independence 

BHH has been coordinating medical, behavioral health, and social services for New York State Medicaid beneficiaries since 2012, and is managed through an administrative partnership with Maimonides Health, Brooklyn’s leading health system.  BHH partners with care management agencies, including hospitals, community-based organizations, and social service providers across Brooklyn to identify and address the full range of needs affecting chronically ill patients.

“We’re excited to expand ICS’s disability-competent care into Brooklyn through this partnership,” said Regina Martinez-Estela. “Joining forces with BHH means Brooklyn’s Medicaid members with disabilities can now access both world-class health coordination and ICS’s unique expertise in mobility and independence.”

ICS is also working with BHH and Maimonides Health to bring care management to a Maimonides Neurology Clinic site, which offers advanced neurology services. This collaboration is the latest in BHH’s co-location initiative, which embeds care managers at community practices to help patients navigate their health and social care needs.

“Partnering with ICS will allow BHH to deepen our commitment to serving all Brooklynites – especially those with physical disabilities,” said Magdalena Gordon, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Health Home. “By adding ICS to our team of dedicated care management agencies and launching a co-located site with them, we’re ensuring personalized support for Health Home members with complex needs.”

About Brooklyn Health Home

Established in 2012, The Brooklyn Health Home (BHH) coordinates medical, behavioral health, and social services for New York State Medicaid beneficiaries by connecting qualifying adults with physical and behavioral health concerns to care management services. BHH partners with care management agencies, including hospitals, community-based organizations, and social service providers across Brooklyn to identify and address the full range of needs affecting chronically ill patients.

About Maimonides Health

Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, providing more than 1 million visits each year through the system’s three hospitals, 1,800+ physicians, and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. The system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties; Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital), a 130-bed adult medical-surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital, and only pediatric trauma center.

 Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including its Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. For additional information, please visit www.maimo.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

About Independence Care System (ICS)

ICS is a nonprofit organization founded in 2000 as a pioneering, innovative community of professionals dedicated to serving people who, prior to ICS, were often forced to spend their lives in institutions.

People with disabilities have turned to ICS for more than 20 years because of our expert, disability-competent staff who help them to improve their health, avoid hospitalizations, achieve goals, improve their quality of life, and be active members in the community. Our foundational pillars — health, mobility and independence — ensure for true health equity for people with disabilities so they can thrive while receiving the quality care they deserve. 

As the first and only Health Home program in New York State with specialized expertise in supporting people with physical disabilities, we have developed a model of care designed to address the vast health disparities experienced by our members and those in underserved communities. We continue to work alongside of our members and advocate for their specialized care because we have seen the effects of a healthcare system that fails to address their needs. ICS offers disability-expert care coordination, educational and recreational programming that enriches members’ lives, and is a premier provider of specialized mobility assessments for wheelchair users through our comprehensive On a Roll wheelchair program.

###