June 4, 2019
The Health Care Improvement Foundation (HCIF) is celebrating Community Health Improvement Week from June 2nd through June 8th along with the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Association for Community Health Improvement. This national event recognizes the critical role played by hospitals, health systems, and communities in improving health and well-being. Community Health Improvement Week aims to inspire hospitals to both acknowledge and share the ways in which they are contributing to patient and community health advancement.
To help with the development of community and population health measures, the AHA has released a digital toolkit, a compilation of such resources as blogs, webinars, podcasts, graphics, and guides.
HCIF supports advancements in community health through several population health projects, including Collaborative Opportunities to Advance Community Health (COACH), a regional collaborative Community Health Needs Assessment, and health literacy initiatives.
- COACH brings local nonprofit health systems together alongside community-based partners to address social determinants of health. To date, this collaborative has focused on addressing food insecurity by screening patients and referring them to community-based resources that provide services such as direct food assistance, benefits connection, and nutrition education.
- This year, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and HCIF led local nonprofit hospitals in a collaborative Community Health Needs Assessment process for the first time. The collaborative process reduces participation burden for local communities and lays groundwork for coordinated efforts to address priority needs that emerge from the assessment.
- HCIF’s health literacy initiatives focus on improving patient-provider communication to achieve better health. While these initiatives seek to address health literacy challenges broadly, specific attention is paid to seniors, immigrants, and refugees through partnerships with community organizations that serve those groups.
Click here to learn more about HCIF’s population and community health initiatives.