Before fully stepping into the new year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the progress and impact of NCCARE360 in 2025. Thanks to the dedication of partners and communities across North Carolina, the network continued to connect individuals and families to essential services when and where they were needed most. Below is a snapshot of what we accomplished together in 2025 and how NCCARE360 continues to evolve to meet community needs.
NCCARE360 by the Numbers
In 2025, NCCARE360 supported communities across the state by helping thousands of North Carolinians connect to vital resources and services. Each number represents a person, a family, or a community member who took a step closer to stability, health, and well-being with support from our connected network of care. These insights underscore the importance of addressing social drivers of health alongside medical care and help guide our partner outreach, planning, and coordination so that support is aligned with real-time community needs.
From Referral to Resolution: Turning Connections into Action
Behind every referral is coordinated work to ensure follow-through and meaningful outcomes. Last year, NCCARE360 supported thousands of cases that required active navigation, collaboration, and follow-up.
Through case management and closed-loop referrals:
Navigators helped individuals overcome barriers to accessing services
Community organizations coordinated care across sectors
Referrals were tracked, acted on, and resolved whenever possible
These efforts reflect NCCARE360’s commitment to action and accountability, not just connection.
Expanding Access: New Tools and Program Enhancements
In late 2025, NCCARE360 launched and expanded new programmatic features designed to lower barriers and increase access.
Self-Serve Navigation Tool
NCCARE360’s self-serve navigation tool offers a new entry point into the network, allowing individuals, families, and providers to search for services by category, location, or eligibility without initiating a referral. This empowers communities to find support independently while complementing navigator-led services.
Resource-Only Partner Option
Theresource-only partner onboarding option allows organizations to be listed in our statewide resource directory without managing electronic referrals. This addresses capacity concerns and ensures that more local services—especially smaller or rural organizations—are visible and accessible.
Together, these enhancements strengthen NCCARE360’s role as a flexible, inclusive network with multiple pathways to care.
Moving Forward Together
The achievements of 2025 demonstrate what’s possible when health care, social services, and community-based organizations work together toward a shared goal: improving access, coordination, and outcomes for North Carolinians.
As NCCARE360 continues to grow, Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI) is taking a more active role in leading the strategy, vision, and long-term direction. This evolution strengthens the human-centered supports that ensure connections lead to real outcomes.
In the coming year, FHLI is expanding its community engagement and referral navigation efforts by focusing on:
Enhanced care coordination through tailored referral navigation services
Deeper community outreach and engagement to better reflect local needs and priorities
Individual resource coordination through trained navigators who will help community members overcome barriers to care.
Together, these efforts build strong partnerships, prioritize community voice, and reinforce a shared commitment to ensuring every North Carolinian can access the support they need when and where they need it.
We look forward to continuing to strengthen and improve the NCCARE360 network in the year ahead!
Expand your reach. Connect with more North Carolinians. No referrals required.
NCCARE360 is expanding how community organizations can participate in the network. We know that every organization plays a vital role in supporting North Carolinians, even if they don’t have the capacity to manage referrals or provide case coordination or case management. That’s why organizations can choose to become a resource-only partner to be listed as an available resource in the network for their community.
What It Means to Be a Resource-Only Partner
Organizations that join NCCARE360 as a resource-only partner will have their services listed in our statewide online resource directory, allowing individuals, families, and providers to easily find you through the network, especially those using NCCARE360’s new self-serve navigation tool.
This means an organization’s programs, hours, contact details, and eligibility information will be visible to anyone searching for help in their community. There’s no need to send or receive referrals through the platform—just increased visibility and accessibility for those who need their support.
Use Case Example
The Maple Street Community Center offers after-school programs, job readiness classes, and utility assistance. However, many residents in their county don’t know about these services. By joining NCCARE360 as a resource-only partner, Maple Street ensures their programs appear in the statewide resource directory and in NCCARE360’s self-serve navigation tool where individuals and care providers can easily find them.
They don’t need to manage referrals or log into the system daily. Simply being listed increases their reach and helps more families discover support available right in their neighborhood.
How It Works
Complete the Onboarding Form Start by filling out our quick onboarding form to share details about your organization. Complete the form here: https://bit.ly/onboard360
Access Your Account Once your account is created by our partners at Unite Us, you’ll receive login details to access the NCCARE360 platform.
Finalize and Launch Your Listing Log in to review, add program details like service areas and hours of operation, and publish your organization’s listing. You’ll be able to manage your contact info, service descriptions, and other key details at any time.
After you publish and your listing goes live, individuals and care providers across North Carolina will be able to find you directly through NCCARE360’s searchable resource directory!
Why Join?
Expand your visibility: Be part of the trusted statewide resource network used by healthcare systems, community organizations, government agencies, residents, and more.
Support your community: Make your services easier to find for people who may not know where to start.
Stay in control: No need to commit to managing referrals or cases—just keep your information up to date.
Be part of the solution: Help ensure that every North Carolinian can connect to the resources they need to live healthy, stable lives.
Who Can Join
Community organizations, nonprofits, faith-based groups, and local programs that offer support for social needs such as food, housing, employment, education, childcare, transportation, or health services are eligible to join as resource-only partners.
Ready to Get Started?
Becoming part of the NCCARE360 network is simple and it’s a great first step in expanding your organization’s reach across North Carolina.
Finding help just got easier. NCCARE360 now offers self-serve resource navigation, an easy-to-use online search tool that allows individuals, families, and providers to find local support right from their phone, tablet, or computer. With thousands of services listed in the NCCARE360 statewide resource directory, you can quickly search for what you need, whether it’s food resources, housing support, transportation, health care, or other essential services. This new feature puts the power in your hands, helping you search, connect, and access resources in your community all in one place.
A Use Case Example
Meet Tanya, a single mother from Greensboro balancing two jobs while caring for her young daughter. When her car unexpectedly broke down, Tanya worried about how she’d get to work or take her daughter to daycare.
Instead of waiting for a referral or searching dozens of websites, Tanya visitednccare360.org/get-help/on her phone. She typed in her ZIP code and the word “transportation.” Within seconds, she found several local programs that offered ride assistance and car repair support.
From there, she clicked on a nearby organization to view contact details and hours, then called directly to learn more. Within a few days, Tanya had connected with a community partner who helped her get her car repaired and back on the road without missing work or income.
Tanya’s story shows how easy it can be to find help fast—anytime, anywhere.
With the new self-serve tool, anyone can:
Search confidentially for services by keyword or category (e.g., food, housing, childcare, employment).
Filter results by location, eligibility, or other needs.
View details instantly (e.g., contact information, hours of operation, and directions).
This new feature is about putting help at your fingertips and ensuring more North Carolinians can get connected when they need it most. The NCCARE360 Self-Serve Resource Navigation tool offers faster access to finding help immediately without waiting for a referral. It also allows users to search confidentially and on their own schedule, without having to share any personal information. The self-serve tool ensures greater access to resources as users are able to search the complete NCCARE360 resource directory, increasing the likelihood of getting connected to resources quickly and efficiently.
Get Started Today
Visit nccare360.org/get-help/ to start exploring local services now. No login or account required—simply enter your city or ZIP code and the type of help you’re looking for to populate a list of available resources that meet your needs.
About NCCARE360
NCCARE360 is North Carolina’s statewide coordinated care network, connecting people to community resources through shared technology and partnerships across the state. This new self-serve tool, launched in partnership with Unite Us, expands access to vital services and continues our mission to ensure every North Carolinian can get connected to the help they need, when they need it most.
Preliminary data indicate that the pilots improve health outcomes and save the state money.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – The Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI) expresses concern about the decision to discontinue funding for the Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOP). HOP is designed to improve health outcomes for Medicaid recipients with complex social needs and reduce financial burden on the health care system.
HOP operates on the NCCARE360 platform. Administered by FHLI, NCCARE360 is the nation’s first and only statewide coordinated network that connects health and human service providers throughout North Carolina to improve care coordination and service delivery.
“The discontinuation of a program like HOP, which shows evidence of cost savings, raises significant concerns,” said Rachel Marquez, MPH, senior program director for NCCARE360. “The decision will reduce access to care for individuals with the greatest needs and result in higher costs to the state.”
FHLI remains committed to supporting programs that address the social drivers of health and improve outcomes for all North Carolinians. NCCARE360 will continue to connect health and human service providers, regardless of HOP funding, enabling them to coordinate care and deliver essential services more effectively and efficiently.
About NCCARE360
NCCARE360 is a public-private partnership between the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI). NCCARE360 is integral to NCDHHS’s mission is to improve the health, safety, and well-being of all North Carolinians. The NCCARE360 implementation team includes United Way of North Carolina, NC 211, and Unite Us.
Community Voices panel at the NCCARE360 Regional Impact Summit in Buncombe County. Panelists pictured from left to right: Vaughn Crawford- Unite Us, Charlene Rumfelt – WNCCHS, Amanda Irvin – BCHHS Public Health, and Ayana Simon – FHLI/NCCARE360
Community-led convenings are beacons for collaboration, bringing together organizations with shared goals to form and strengthen meaningful partnerships that drive positive change.
Last week, more than 30 organizations in western North Carolina gathered in Asheville, NC, for the NCCARE360 Regional Impact Summit hosted by Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministries (ABCCM), Vaya Health Systems, and Buncombe County government. Organizations came together to review community needs data, receive platform training, and engage in peer discussion about common challenges, potential solutions, and significant benefits to collaboration around utilization of the NCCARE360 platform.
“Connection is important, especially now” -Stacie Turpin Saunders- Deputy Director/Section Chief, Local and Community Support, Division of Public Health, NC Department of Health and Human Services
Victoria Reichard, Buncombe County Behavioral Health Manager, helped kick off the event by reviewing a brief history of NCCARE360, acknowledging that some organizations in attendance had to pause in their onboarding or utilization of the NCCARE360 network largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she encouraged them to consider today be the day they jump back in. Throughout the event, she and other hosts emphasized the importance of working together to ensure the continued success of the program, and that every connection is efficient and meaningful. “If you’ve signed on recently, you may think the network isn’t as robust as you thought it would be, but that’s why we’re here. Let’s make music together,” Victoria said.
Victoria Reichard, Buncombe County Behavioral Health Manager
The overall message of the summit was the importance of having community buy-in for the NCCARE360 network. Panelists who ranged from new users to experienced users to administrators of the program discussed the benefits of whole-community cooperation, emphasizing that more participation allows more organizations to leverage the information they receive when everyone collectively uses the system to send referrals. This not only helps network users connect clients to services, but it also helps the collective community identify and then communicate crucial gaps to funders, as well as to think strategically about where to apply existing resources until additional ones become available.
“[When] everyone has access to the data, they can collaborate to write grants and receive more funding.” -Brandon Wilson, Chief Operating Officer, Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry
While fostering partnerships among community organizations is crucial for effective referral management, relying solely on personal connections may inadvertently limit client access to services based on the referrer’s acquaintances. The host emphasized that NCCARE360 provides a more equitable approach to linking clients to the resources they need because utilizing a shared technology like NCCARE360 ensures that every client has an equal opportunity for their needs to be addressed by partner agencies, regardless of the referrer’s level of influence or connections.
Panelists also shared that despite a heavier lift in the beginning when their organizations were onboarding, the platform improved their workflows by freeing up their time and providing instant notification of referral status instead of having to spend countless hours making and waiting for phone calls.
“In the beginning there is a heavier lift to get everything set up and going, then after you’re up and running and have workflows configured, it is much easier” – Charlene Rumfelt, Western North Carolina Community Health Services
Community-led events like this one instill a sense of ownership and empowerment among participants, fostering long-term commitment to shared goals. Our aim is for participants to become more invested in the NCCARE360 network and their community outcomes through increased active engagement. We hope this intrinsic motivation fosters ongoing collaboration and enduring partnerships, driving continuous improvement beyond specific events.
This event brought together organizations to address complex challenges and identify benefits of NCCARE360. By fostering dialogue, partnership, and collective action, communities are paving the way for transformative change. As we navigate an increasingly interconnected world, we will continue to recognize the pivotal role of these community-led initiatives in building resilient, inclusive communities where collaboration thrives.
Key takeaways we learned from community leaders about the importance of active community collaboration and participation in NCCARE360:
Collaboration creates a more robust network that ensure organizations can connect their clients to resources
Collaboration allows organizations to identify gaps that can be communicated to funders
Collaboration helps organizations make more strategic decisions about where to apply existing resources
Collaboration ensures that resource allocation is more equitable
Despite a “heavier lift” in the beginning when organizations are onboarding to NCCARE360, workflows tend to improve because the platform frees up staff time
About NCCARE360
NCCARE360 is the result of a strong public-private partnership between the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI). NCCARE360 is integral to DHHS’s mission is to improve the health, safety, and well-being of all North Carolinians. The NCCARE360 implementation team includes United Way of North Carolina, NC 211, Unite Us, and Expound Decision Systems.
