March 22, 2018
Collaborative Opportunities to Advance Community Health (COACH) is a collaborative sponsored by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) and facilitated by HCIF to improve community health in southeastern Pennsylvania. COACH recognizes that having access to sufficient nutritious food is a social determinant of health that directly affects overall health status. The Healthy Food Access Pilot is a collaborative pilot program that brings health systems and community partners together to screen patients in the Philadelphia area for food insecurity and to refer those in need to community resources.
COACH representatives shared some of the lessons learned from the Healthy Food Access Pilot to date in a presentation given at the Association for Community Health Improvement National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia on March 15. This well-received breakout session focused on the contributions of a “collaboratory” approach to community-responsive care. After the session, presenters answered questions from engaged audience members regarding the benefits of multi-hospital collaborations, continuous shared learning, data transparency, and adaptive process improvement. Presenters represented the Health Care Improvement Foundation, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, and three COACH member institutions: Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Temple University Health System.