May 09, 2019

Anchor Collaboratives: Building Bridges With Place-Based Partnerships and Anchor Institutions→

May 09, 2019/ CACHE

“Across the country, anchor institutions are beginning to understand and leverage the power of their economic assets to address social and economic disparities and revitalize local communities. Because of their commitment to place and their economic power, anchor institutions are uniquely positioned to stabilize local economies and begin to reverse the devastating effects of urban disinvestment. An increasing number of anchor institutions and partner organizations have joined to form place-based networks, or anchor collaboratives, to develop, implement, and support shared goals and initiatives that advance equitable and inclusive economic development strategies. The challenges our cities and communities face today are daunting. But when anchor institutions intentionally align their collective resources for stronger and more inclusive economies and healthier communities, they can make real change happen locally. The anchor mission work also helps these institutions to see themselves as threads of the social fabric of their community—and they begin to view their role as a part of the solution in bolder and broader ways. “

From Democracy Collaborative, comes Anchor Collaboratives: Building Bridges With Place-Based Partnerships and Anchor Institutions. This report highlights the work of Anchor Collaboratives across the country and their role in investing in place-based initiatives. Read the full report here.

April 30, 2019

Food Insecurity Becomes Focus for Population Health Programs

April 30, 2019/ CACHE

“Healthcare providers, payers, and other industry partners are increasingly recognizing that tackling food insecurity is a major component of a successful population health management program…

As the healthcare industry starts to ramp up its data-driven capabilities overall health system costs, asserts a 2017 study from BMC Geriatrics and Population Health Management. Access to federal food assistance programs such as SNAP reduced the likelihood of hospitalization for seniors by 14 % and cut the likelihood of nursing home admission by 23 %, the study said.

Public and private payers have been taking the lead in this area.”

This article from Health IT Analytic’s Population Health News explores how health systems are providing access to healthy food options, addressing food insecurity, and incorporating diet “prescription” programs. Read the full article here.

August 06, 2018

Housing for health: Nationwide Children's Hospital presents a case study for treating a neighborhood as a patient

August 06, 2018/ CACHE

"Neighborhood effect syndrome, characterized by symptoms of extreme poverty including blight, housing insecurity, racial segregation, trauma, violence, poorly performing schools, low social cohesion and support and environmental toxins, has debilitating consequences on child health. Health care providers frequently encounter challenges to caring for children from affected neighborhoods, and these children often experience poorer outcomes compared to peers in unaffected neighborhoods. Historically, institutions have been largely ineffective in changing these outcomes with one-child-at-a-time tactics.

In a novel approach to improving outcomes for these children, Nationwide Children's leaders with community partners decided to address neighborhood effect syndrome as a target for pediatric health care - treating the neighborhood as a patient. In 2008, Nationwide Children's began collaborating with residents, government entities and social services agencies to develop the Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families (HNHF) initiative..."

Read the full press release at EurekAlert and check out the Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families resource on Nationwide Children's site.

July 09, 2018

United Hospital Fund launches Second Phase of Early Childhood Development Initiative to Address Social and Economic Factors Affecting Children's Health

July 09, 2018/ CACHE

Eight hospitals are partnering with community-based organizations across NYC, with funding from United Hospital Fund, Altman Foundation, and the New York Community Trust.

"United Hospital Fund announced that it is launching the second phase of its Partnerships for Early Childhood Development (PECD) initiative, which partners New York-area pediatric primary care practices with community-based organizations to better address the social and economic factors affecting the health of very young children.

PECD was launched in March 2017 with funding from a collaborative consisting of United Hospital Fund, the Altman Foundation, and The New York Community Trust. The first phase of the initiative was designed to help pediatric primary care practices screen children ages 0-5 for social and environmental risks that interfere with healthy development, and connect them, through partnerships with community-based organizations, with services that can address those risks."

To read the full article, please click here. This piece is from United Hospital Fund.

July 06, 2018

Ensuring Rural Kids are Part of the Health Equity Conversation

July 06, 2018/ CACHE

"People living in rural communities experience disparities in health outcomes that are avoidable, unfair and unjust. Rural children especially face socioeconomic, geographic and environmental barriers that influence their health conditions, outcomes and behaviors. Access to health care services plays a large role, but so too do intersecting shortcomings in physical infrastructure, broadband internet, transportation, housing, education and just economic systems. Rural children of color—particularly in the South, along the U.S./Mexico border and on Native land—battle discrimination, racism and marginalization that continues to contribute to the worst health disparities in our nation." This piece from PolicyLab offers insight into rural communities, providers and researchers that are partnering to care for children and families in rural areas.

Jennifer Whittaker Mup | July 05, 2018

This piece is from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Policy Lab Blog

June 29, 2018

Why Boston Medical Center is Investing in Housing

June 29, 2018/ CACHE

BMC’s housing investment is tied to a renovation of its campus in the South End. The state requires that 5 percent of the cost of a hospital expansion be reinvested in community health. BMC chose to spend the money on housing. The initiative also includes $1 million to help families fight evictions, $1 million to create a housing stabilization program for people with complex medical issues, and $1 million to support a grocery store at a development in Roxbury.

Simón Rios | June 27, 2018

This piece appears in the Common Health Newsletter of WBUR

June 27, 2018

Empowering Health Through Dignity and Trust

June 27, 2018/ CACHE

Community food club and a comprehensive produce prescription program prove that food insecurity and diet-related disease can be overcome through programs that empower and enable healthy choices. See this case study from Health Care Without Harm on Spectrum Health and their community benefit work in Michigan.

This piece appears in Health Care Without Harm's Delivering Community Benefit: Healthy Food Playbook

June 27, 2018

Raising Places Building Child Centered Communities→

June 27, 2018/ CACHE

“The environments where children grow up have immense impact on their health and wellness. And places where children can thrive are places where all of us want to be. What do child-centered communities look like? And how might we work together to create more of them in America?”

Raising Places explored these questions in six diverse U.S. communities. This report is a synthesis of the trends, insights and lessons they've learned.

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