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

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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.

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What Montefiore's 300% ROI from social determinants investments means for the future of hospitals →

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What Montefiore's 300% ROI from social determinants investments means for the future of hospitals

"Montefiore Health System in the Bronx has tackled the social determinants of health by investing in housing, a move that has cut down on emergency room visits and unnecessary hospitalizations for an annual 300 percent return on investment.

Investing in the social determinants of health is becoming more commonplace even as hospitals and physicians ask whether it is their place to step outside of traditional care to not only look at, but try to fix, other reasons that keep patients from getting better."

Susan Morse | July 05, 2018

This piece appears in Healthcare Finance

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What Does It Take to Create a Community Investment Ecosystem? Insights from San Bernardino→

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What Does It Take to Create a Community Investment Ecosystem? Insights from San Bernardino

In San Bernardino, CA, Dignity Health is helping spark partnerships and accelerate public-private collaborations to ensure all residents have access to the resources they need for a healthy life. 

This article originally appeared on the Center for Community Investment's blog on July 1, 2018. 

Alyia Gaskins | July 01, 2018

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Intermountain Alliance to Address Social Determinants of Health

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Intermountain Alliance to Address Social Determinants of Health

"Intermountain Healthcare plans to invest $12 million in programs to coordinate community care services that address the social determinants of health in two Utah cities, the organization recently announced. These funds will bolster the Utah Alliance for the Determinants of Health, a multi-stakeholder coalition aimed at reducing the adverse health impacts of the social determinants of health for Medicaid patients living in Ogden and St. George, Utah. Areas were selected as a result of a community health needs assessment analysis that revealed underserved areas within Utah that suffer from limited health equity."

Sarah Heath | July 5, 2018

This piece can be found in Patient Care Access News from Patient Engagement HIT

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Early Childhood is Critical to Health Equity→

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Early Childhood is Critical to Health Equity

"The first few years of life set us on paths toward - or away from -  health and well-being in childhood and as adults. Experiences in early childhood - defined here as the first five years of life - are therefore critical to having a fair chance to be healthy across the lifespan." The second report in a series on health equity from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), this report explores conditions in early childhood that shape health throughout life, how we can set all children on a path toward lifelong health, the business case for investing in early childhood, and a call to action. 

Read the full report from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation here.

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Untangling the Complex Issue of Health Equity in Michigan→

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Untangling the Complex Issue of Health Equity in Michigan

"Imagine this: Your child has tested positive for lead poisoning, so you request a city inspection of your home. At the same time, you receive an eviction notice. You follow up with the city to find out when the lead inspection will occur so you can use it to fight your eviction notice, but the city has canceled the inspection because of your eviction. In the same week, you have your second child, who will grow up in transitional housing after your eviction." This article is part of State of Health, a new series examining health disparities, how they affect Michigan's children and seniors, and the innovative solutions being developed to address them.

Sarah Rigg | June 21, 2018

This piece appears in Second Wave Michigan

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Overcoming Challenges to Medicaid Investments in Social Determinants of Health→

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Medicaid and other payers are recognizing that health outcomes and costs are driven by factors beyond clinical care. These factors are rooted in the community and include issues such as housing, food security, transportation, and the neighborhood environment in which people live, learn, play, pray, and work. Through an initiative sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Payment Reform for Population Health, AcademyHealth partnered with the Nemours Children’s Health System to work with Maryland, Oregon, and Washington State to address the payment challenge. Specifically, they worked with states to explore current Medicaid authorities to promote and provide prevention services in community settings, cover upstream prevention benefits such as assessing a home for asthma triggers, and deliver services using nontraditional community-based providers.

Enrique Martinez-Vidal, Debbie I. Chang, Tricia McGinnis | June 13, 2018

This piece appears in the Health Affairs blog.

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Strong Social Networks are Key to Turning Around Communities→

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Strong Social Networks are Key to Turning Around Communities

What is the difference between communities that are able to recover from disinvestment and those that cannot? The answer, according to recent research from MDRC, are the presence of strong social networks. See how a network of community organizations are supporting health and resiliency efforts in Chicago.

Maurice A. Jones | June 8, 2018

This piece appears in Stanford Social Innovation Review Cities Page.

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Costs Fell by 11% When Payer Addressed Social Determinants of Health→

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Costs Fell by 11% When Payer Addressed Social Determinants of Health

Organizations that account for the social determinants of health and connect patients to services that meet their social needs could reduce spending by approximately 11 percent within a year, according to a recent study.  HealthConnections, a program from WellCare Health Plans, focuses on addressing the socioeconomic needs of vulnerable patients by referring beneficiaries to community services, such as transportation to appointments or help paying for basic utility services.  

To examine the relationship between social determinants of health and healthcare costs, the team compared the change in average healthcare expenses for patients enrolled in the HealthConnections program who had all their social needs met versus a group who had no social needs met.

Jessica Kent | June 05, 2018

This piece appears in Health IT Analytics: Tools and Strategies News

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Investing in healthy cities: Initiative transforms civic collaboration to improve low-income communities→

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"What does it mean for a health system to invest fully in its community? Dozens of health care organizations across the country are learning that the commitment goes beyond typical community benefit programs and requires innovative thinking about partnerships. It’s a mindset shift for many health care leaders but one that could be the future of sustainable, preventive population health."

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