/ en Tue, 29 Jul 2025 22:55:15 -0500 Tue, 29 Jul 25 09:00:00 -0500 /center/community-health-improvement-week Mon, 09 Jun 2025 07:00:00 -0500 Population/Community Health /center/population-health-management Tue, 29 Jul 2025 09:00:00 -0500 Population/Community Health /center/population-health/about Tue, 29 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0500 Population/Community Health /center/population-health Tue, 29 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0500 Population/Community Health /fact-sheets/2022-08-30-fact-sheet-rural-hospital-support-act-s4009-assistance-rural-community <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-8"><h2><span>Background</span></h2><p>Medicare pays most acute care hospitals under the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS). Some of these hospitals receive additional support from Medicare to help address potential financial challenges associated with being rural, geographically isolated and low volume. These programs are Medicare-dependent Hospitals (MDHs), Low-volume Adjustment (LVA) and Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs).</p><p><span><strong>Without action from Congress, the enhanced LVA and MDH programs will expire Sept. 30, 2025.</strong></span></p><h3><span>Why are these programs important?</span></h3><p>The network of providers that serves rural Americans is financially fragile and more dependent on Medicare revenue due to the high percentage of Medicare beneficiaries who live in rural areas. Rural residents also on average tend to be older, have lower incomes and higher rates of chronic illness than urban counterparts. This greater dependence on Medicare may make certain hospitals more financially vulnerable. Indeed, Medicare only pays 82% of hospital costs on average according to our latest analysis. Additionally, over 150 rural hospitals have closed or converted to other provider types since 2010. These designations protect the financial viability of small, rural hospitals to ensure they can continue providing patients access to care.</p><h3><span>Medicare-dependent Hospitals</span></h3><p>Congress established the MDH program in 1987 to help support small rural hospitals for which Medicare patients make up a significant percentage of inpatient days or discharges. MDHs are small, rural hospitals where at least 60% of their admissions or patient days are from Medicare patients. MDHs receive the IPPS rate plus 75% of the difference between the IPPS rate and their inflation-adjusted costs from one of three base years.</p><h3><span>Low-volume Adjustment</span></h3><p>Certain factors beyond providers’ control can affect the costs of furnishing services, including patient volume. This is particularly relevant in small and isolated communities where providers frequently cannot achieve economies of scale like larger hospitals. Congress established the LVA program in 2005 to help isolated, rural hospitals with a low number of discharges. Currently under the enhanced program, they must be more than 15 miles from another IPPS hospital and have fewer than 3,800 annual total discharges. These LVA hospitals receive a payment adjustment based on a sliding scale formula to ensure the patients and communities these hospitals serve continue to have access to care.</p><h3><span>Sole Community Hospitals</span></h3><p>The SCH program was created to maintain access to needed health services for Medicare beneficiaries in isolated communities. In order to be eligible for the program, SCHs must show that because of distance or geographic boundaries between hospitals, they are the sole source of inpatient hospital services reasonably available in a certain geographic area. They receive increased payments based on their cost per discharge in a base year.</p><h2><span>AHA Position — Cosponsor the Rural Hospital Support Act (S.335) & the Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals (ARCH) Act</span></h2><p>The Rural Hospital Support Act (S.335) includes the following important AHA-supported policies to ensure access to care:</p><ul><li>Permanently extends the MDH program and adds an additional base year that hospitals may choose for calculating payments.</li><li>Permanently extends the enhanced LVA program, which would continue to allow hospitals more than 15 miles from another IPPS hospital and have fewer than 3,800 annual total discharges to be eligible.</li><li>Adds a base year that SCHs may select for calculating their payments.</li></ul><p>The ARCH Act helps rural hospitals continue to serve their patients and communities by extending the current MDH and LVA programs by five years and will soon be reintroduced in the House.</p></div><div class="col-md-4"><a href="/system/files/media/file/2022/08/fact-sheet-rural-hospital-support-act-s4009-the-assistance-for-rural-community-hospitals-act-hr8747.pdf" target="_blank" title="Click here to Download the Fact Sheet: Rural Hospital Support Act (S.4009) & the Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals Act (H.R.8747)"><img src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Page-1-fact-sheet-rural-hospital-support-act-the-assistance-for-rural-community-hospitals-act-20250205.png" data-entity-uuid="60a4126d-3db7-4725-81d8-adc2020afcef" data-entity-type="file" alt="Fact Sheet: Rural Hospital Support Act (S.1110) & the Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals Act (H.R.6430) page 1." width="681" height="900"></a></div></div></div> Fri, 25 Jul 2025 11:28:44 -0500 Population/Community Health /education-events/driving-health-outcomes-through-hospital-public-health-collaborations <p>The community health needs assessment (CHNA) process offers hospitals a valuable opportunity to strengthen connections with the communities they serve. Conducted every three years, CHNAs create a structured process for hospitals to partner meaningfully with community stakeholders. Similarly, organizations like federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and accredited public health departments also perform routine community health assessments — creating a powerful opportunity for collaboration and alignment. </p><div><p paraid="638943558" paraeid="{1766065e-a4d6-46c8-ac4f-9ba758bae469}{234}">In this webinar, participants will hear from two hospital-public health department partnerships that have successfully implemented collaborative CHNAs. </p></div><div><ul><li><p paraid="571283730" paraeid="{1766065e-a4d6-46c8-ac4f-9ba758bae469}{248}"><strong>Dignity Health St. Joseph’s</strong> and the <strong>Maricopa County Department of Public Health</strong> will share practical tools for developing a framework to prioritize community health needs. </p></li></ul></div><div><ul><li><p paraid="1804049326" paraeid="{3801488c-1a37-433b-bba7-0aec7ac67ea2}{5}"><strong>Ochsner Health</strong>, in partnership with the <strong>Louisiana Public Health Institute and United Way of Acadiana</strong>, will present a scalable CHNA model that blends rigorous data analysis with meaningful community engagement. Join us to explore replicable strategies, tools and real-world examples that can help health care organizations and cross-sector collaborations identify and act on priority community health needs. </p></li></ul><p paraid="1804049326" paraeid="{3801488c-1a37-433b-bba7-0aec7ac67ea2}{5}">AHA’s Care Delivery Transformation Framework supports hospitals in reimagining how care is delivered to better meet the needs of patients and communities. This webinar series highlights innovative strategies that are shaping the future of care delivery. Each session will focus on one of the framework’s three core areas: clinical settings, community settings and linking care to community.                    </p></div> Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:31:33 -0500 Population/Community Health /news/headline/2025-07-16-aha-recognizes-hospitals-health-systems-showcasing-community-health-improvement <p>The AHA July 16 <a href="/press-releases/2025-07-16-five-collaborative-programs-earn-2025-aha-dick-davidson-nova-award" target="_blank">announced</a> five winners of the <a href="/about/awards/aha-nova-award" target="_blank">2025 AHA Dick Davidson NOVA Award</a> for their hospital-led collaborative efforts to improve community health. The winning programs are the Community Resource Center, Endeavor Health, of Evanston, Ill.; iHeart Collaborative, IU Health, of Indianapolis; Community Behavioral Health Workforce Development Program, Mass General Brigham, of Boston; Food Rx Program, MedStar Health, of Baltimore; and Healthy Moms, Rochester Regional Health, of Rochester, N.Y. The 2025 winners will be honored during the <a href="https://leadershipsummit.aha.org/" target="_blank">AHA Leadership Summit</a> July 20-22 in Nashville, Tenn. </p><p>“This year’s Dick Davidson NOVA award honorees are leading the way with programs to create healthier communities,” said Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO. “The collaborative efforts between these hospitals and local partners have demonstrated how hospitals are reaching outside the four walls to effectively meet the needs of patients and advance health.” </p> Wed, 16 Jul 2025 15:03:51 -0500 Population/Community Health /community-health-environment/resources <div class="raw-html-embed"> </div><div> /* Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar */ .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar { position: relative; display: block; overflow: hidden; max-width: 1170px; margin: 0px auto 25px auto; border-radius: 75px 0px; } .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { position: absolute; bottom: 40px; color: #003087; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, .8); width: 100%; padding: 20px 40px; font-size: 3em; box-shadow: 0 3px 8px -5px rgba(0, 0, 0, .6); } @media (max-width:991px) { .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; font-size: 2.5em; } } @media (max-width:767px) { .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { font-size: 2em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; padding: 10px 20px; } } @media (max-width:530px) { .Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar h1 { position: relative; background-color: #63666A22; } } /* Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar // */ <header class="Banner_Title_Overlay_Bar"><img src="/sites/default/files/2024-07/cch-banner-city-park-1170x250.jpg" alt="Banner Image" width="1170" height="250"><div><h1>Community Health and Environment Resources</h1></div></header></div><div class="row"> <div data-entity-type="webform" data-entity-uuid="19647ddc-18ec-47c4-9edc-d1b5ee437cde" data-embed-button="webform_embed" data-entity-embed-display="view_mode:webform.token" data-langcode="en" data-entity-embed-display-settings="[]" class="embedded-entity"> <div class="antibot-no-js antibot-message antibot-message-warning">You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.</div> <div id="edit-climate-menu" class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-processed-text form-item- js-form-item- form-no-label"> <div class="raw-html-embed"> /* Needed to over ride the webform width */ .webform-submission-climate-and-community-health-men-form { margin: auto auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 0 0; } .MenuClimate { z-index: 50; margin-bottom:25px; } .MenuClimate a, .MenuClimateNav li > a, .nav>li>a { text-decoration: none; } .MenuClimate h3 { font-size: 15px; text-align: center; } @media (min-width:768px) { .MenuClimate { float: right; } } @media (max-width:767px) { .MenuClimate { max-width: 400px; margin: 0px auto 50px auto; } .MenuClimate img { margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 150px; width: 100% } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a { font-size: 12px; padding: 0px 0px; float: left; } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a:after { content: "\00a0\00a0| \00a0" } .MenuClimate .nav>li:last-of-type>a:after { content: "" } .MenuClimate .nav>li { border-bottom: 0px; } .MenuClimate li { max-width: 375px; margin: auto } } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a:hover { background-color: #78be20; border-radius: 20px 0px; } .MenuClimate h3 a, .MenuClimate ul li a { color: #005844; } .MenuClimateNav { border-top: 5px solid #78be20; } .MenuClimateNav li { border-bottom: solid 1.5px #78be20; line-height: 20px; } .MenuClimateNav a:hover { color: #fff; font-weight: 700; background-color: #BFBFBF; } .MenuClimateNav li:hover > a { background-color: #BFBFBF; } .MenuClimateHead { margin: 3px 0; } .MenuClimateHead a { --c: #78be20; line-height: 2.5em; background: conic-gradient(from -135deg at 100% 50%, var(--c) 90deg, #0000 0) 0 var(--p, 0%), conic-gradient(from -135deg at 2.5em 50%, #0000 90deg, var(--c) 0) 100% var(--p, 0%); background-size: var(--s, 0%) 200%; background-repeat: no-repeat; transition: 0.4s ease-in, background-position 0s; padding: 0px 0px; } .MenuClimateHead a:hover { --p: 100%; --s: calc( 50% + 2.3em); /* it should be 0.6em(1.2em/2) but we use a litte bigger */ color: #fff; border-radius: 20px 0px; } .MenuClimate a { transition: 1s ease-in, background-position 0s; } @media (min-width:768px) { .MenuClimate a:hover { -webkit-transform: translateX(32px); transform: translateX(32px); transition: 1s ease-in, background-position 0s; } ul.MenuClimateNav li { overflow: hidden; } } @media (max-width:767px) { .MenuClimate a:hover { -webkit-transform: translateY(5px); transform: translateY(5px); transition: 1s ease-in, background-position 0s; } .MenuClimate .nav>li>a:hover { border-radius: 0px 0px; } } <nav class="col-lg-3 MenuClimate"> <aside> <h3 class="MenuClimateHead"> <a href="/community-health-environment" title="Go to the Home Section: Community Health and Environment">Community Health and Environment</a> </h3> <div> <ul class="nav MenuClimateNav"> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/about" title="Visit the About Page">About</a></li> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/technical-expert-panel" title="Visit the Technical Expert Panel (TEP) Page">Technical Expert Panel</a></li> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/workshops" title="Visit the Workshops Page">Workshops</a></li> <li> <a href="/community-health-environment/stories" title="Visit the Stories Page">Share Stories</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="homepage-textfield js-form-wrapper form-wrapper"><div class="js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textfield form-item-homepage js-form-item-homepage"> Leave this field blank </div> </div> </div> .center_Lead p { color: #63666A; font-weight: 300; line-height: 1.4; font-size: 21px; } <div class="col-lg-9 center_Lead "><h2>Explore These Resources</h2><p>The Community Health and Environment initiative presents additional resources that can be leveraged to address the impact of environment on the health of your community. Use these resources to dive deeper into data collection and evaluation, planning and partnerships, internal organizational alignment and more.</p></div></div> .shcItems{ border: solid 2px #005844; padding-top: 25px; padding-bottom: 25px; border-radius: 75px 0px; /*margin-top:50px;*/ margin-bottom:50px; } .shcItems2{ background-color: #78be2022; } .shcItems h2{ text-align:center; color:#005844; /* margin-bottom:50px;*/ } .shcItems h3{ color:#005844; } .shcItems h3{ margin:0px; } .shcItems h4{ color:#78be20; } .shcItems .shcItemsLine { border-bottom:solid 1px #78be20; margin-top:25px; margin-bottom:50px; } .BulletCircle ul { list-style: none; /* Remove default bullets */ padding-left: 0px } .BulletCircle ul li { margin-bottom: 7px; line-height: 1.5em; } .BulletCircle ul li::before { content: "●"; font-size: 1em; position: relative; top: 0px; color:#78be20; text-indent: -20px; /* key property */ margin-left: 20px; /* key property */ padding-right:10px } .BulletCircle ul li { text-indent: -40px; /* key property */ margin-left: 30px; /* key property */ } */ @media (min-width:415px){ .BulletSplit2 ul{ -webkit-column-count: 2; -- Old Chrome, Safari and Opera -- -moz-column-count: 2; -- Old Firefox -- column-count: 2; } } <div class="row"><div class="col-md-10 col-md-offset-1 shcItems shcItems2"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-12 BulletCircle"><ul><li><a href="https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/"><strong>Environmental Information Hub</strong></a> — Provides essential environmental data, products and services to help decision-makers across sectors operate more efficiently and safely while addressing specific environmental challenges.</li><li><a href="https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/"><strong>National Risk Index for Natural Hazards</strong></a> — Interactive data set and online tool from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that allows visualization of the risk to most U.S. communities from 18 hazard types, such as flooding and wildfires.</li><li><a href="https://www.americanforests.org/tools-research-reports-and-guides/tree-equity-score/"><strong>Tree Equity Score</strong></a> — Assesses how well the benefits of urban trees, shade and clean air are reaching communities. Helps community members create a data-driven plan to improve the “tree equity score” in their neighborhood.</li><li><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/climate-health/php/brace/index.html"><strong>5 Steps to Building Environmental Resilience</strong></a> — Empowers health officials to develop strategies and programs to help communities prepare for health impacts of weather and the environment.</li><li><a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/case-study/moving-forward-together-building-tribal-resiliency-and-partnerships"><strong>Building Resiliency and Partnerships with Tribal Communities</strong></a> — Tools and case studies for hospitals and tribal communities to address environmental impact on health.</li><li><a href="https://toolkit.climate.gov/"><strong>U.S. Environmental Resilience Toolkit</strong></a> — Designed to help individuals, communities and health care organizations better understand and address the impacts of the environment on health and support resilience planning and decision-making.</li></ul></div></div></div></div> Tue, 24 Jun 2025 10:49:28 -0500 Population/Community Health /advancing-health-podcast/2025-06-18-food-medicine-how-cleveland-clinic-nourishing-community-health <p>What if access to fresh food could transform entire neighborhoods? In this conversation, Vickie Johnson, executive vice president and chief community officer at Cleveland Clinic, discusses how the medical center is confronting food insecurity by treating food as a vital part of health care. Combining data, community trust and local partnerships, Cleveland Clinic is nourishing long-term well-being — one neighborhood at a time.</p><hr><div></div><div class="raw-html-embed"><details class="transcript"> <summary> <h2 title="Click here to open/close the transcript."> <span>View Transcript</span><br> </h2> </summary> <p> 00:00:01:00 - 00:00:25:20<br> Tom Haederle<br> Welcome to Advancing Health. Food insecurity doesn't always mean not having enough to eat. It can also describe lack of access to healthy food. Coming up on this podcast, we learn more about Cleveland Clinic's broad strategy to provide opportunities for healthy eating to all of the communities it serves. As today's guest says, "we look at food as medicine." </p> <p> 00:00:25:23 - 00:00:52:14<br> Nancy Myers<br> Hi, I'm Nancy Myers from the ���������� Association. Thank you for joining us today as we have a great conversation planned with Vickie Johnson, who's the executive vice president and chief community officer for the Cleveland Clinic, based out of Cleveland, Ohio but with operations worldwide. Today, we'll be talking a little bit about how they're understanding and meeting the needs of both their patients and their communities as they seek to drive better health for all. </p> <p> 00:00:52:15 - 00:00:56:23<br> Nancy Myers<br> So, Vickie, thanks so much for joining us today. Appreciate you being here. </p> <p> 00:00:56:25 - 00:01:01:03<br> Vickie Johnson<br> You are welcome. And thank you for the invitation. It's an honor to be here. </p> <p> 00:01:01:09 - 00:01:07:06<br> Nancy Myers<br> Tell me a little bit about the work that you and your team lead at the Cleveland Clinic, just to ground us. </p> <p> 00:01:07:08 - 00:01:33:21<br> Vickie Johnson<br> Sure. So in 2023, Cleveland Clinic established the community health office. And I'm blessed to be the leader. As you said in the introduction, we are an enterprise with a global footprint. So it's my job to lead an awesome team at developing a strategy to care for every community in which we're located. And our objective is to build healthy communities together. </p> <p> 00:01:33:24 - 00:02:01:04<br> Vickie Johnson<br> We have a strategy that we'll talk about a little later to make sure that we use the same approach to engage with every community, so that the outcomes and the strategies that we have are locally relevant. So we're happy to do this work. We are a service line to every institute and department at Cleveland Clinic so when we discover the needs of our local communities, we work as a partner, a non-physician partner </p> <p> 00:02:01:04 - 00:02:12:09<br> Vickie Johnson<br> so we have a dyad partnership to work together to leave the walls of the hospital and go into the community where patients and community members are to address those needs together. </p> <p> 00:02:12:14 - 00:02:33:01<br> Nancy Myers<br> So I know that one area that you've been focusing on through the work of your team and over the last few years has been what some people would refer to as food insecurity. But your lens is a lot broader than that, or broader than just simply access to food. Can you tell us about the work to address nutrition that the Cleveland Clinic has undertaken? </p> <p> 00:02:33:03 - 00:03:02:24<br> Vickie Johnson<br> Yes, I'm happy to do that. So you're correct. So we look at food as medicine and we look at food as something that we can engage communities around. It's easy to understand that at the foundational level, everyone needs access to food, but it needs to be good food. So in the urban communities in which we're located sometimes it's not access to food, it's access to good food. </p> <p> 00:03:02:27 - 00:03:41:24<br> Vickie Johnson<br> We have patients and neighbors who shop at gas stations and convenience stores, and so they have something to eat, but it's not necessarily nutritious. So we've worked in partnership with the communities in which we're located, with local health departments, with the business community, our stakeholders, to figure out how we can leverage the economic impact that we have in each community to address nutrition, which then includes how do we leverage who we are to attract retailers who will provide nutritious food so access to better food options. </p> <p> 00:03:41:27 - 00:04:06:04<br> Vickie Johnson<br> And then also how do we educate and work in collaboration with our community to understand how nutrition is a really big part of health. And children in particular, how they perform at school, and everything really is based on that foundational need that we all have. But we do not all have access to the same quality of food. </p> <p> 00:04:06:07 - 00:04:27:01<br> Nancy Myers<br> So it sounds like you're really taking a multi-pronged approach in terms of the strategies as you go from community to community that you serve. And I heard you mention retail partnerships and education. Can you maybe talk a little bit more about what some of your foundational strategies are in different communities that you're most proud of? </p> <p> 00:04:27:03 - 00:04:54:22<br> Vickie Johnson<br> Absolutely. So let me start even broader, first, to say that when we think about food, we looked at food from an enterprise perspective and as a health care provider. So food at the bedside. Food that we sell on our campuses. So the types of retailers and restaurants that we allow to have a presence on our campus that we sell to patients' families and caregivers. </p> <p> 00:04:54:29 - 00:05:22:15<br> Vickie Johnson<br> And then food in the community, which is the space that I lead. So we've leveraged relationships that we have with food vendors, those that we do business with at the bedside and on campus to see how can we partner together. The whole thing, the whole approach that we use is how do we leave the hospital? We want to go where people are so that we have the greater opportunity to have an impact on the health outcomes. </p> <p> 00:05:22:15 - 00:05:46:00<br> Vickie Johnson<br> So how do we leverage partnerships? So we have great partnerships with Morrison Health, for example. The relationship started inside the hospital, but we both care for the same community. So how do we go together to provide education. So how do we leverage the chef that is preparing great meals for our patients in the community as well? And how do we bring that to communities where people are? </p> <p> 00:05:46:00 - 00:06:21:18<br> Vickie Johnson<br> So how do we use cooking demonstrations and education and recipes in libraries and community centers, combined with other partners like the American Heart Association. So we leverage those relationships we have. Also, we've been so fortunate on our main campus area, which is in the city of Cleveland in the Fairfax neighborhood where we've been over 100 years, and we've been in a community where the people who are our neighbors had not had a quality grocery store for over 30 years. </p> <p> 00:06:21:20 - 00:06:52:13<br> Vickie Johnson<br> And in 2018, they told us the best thing that we could do for them as a partner, as an anchor institution, is to leverage our employee base and the amount of dollars that we spend to attract a retailer to a community, quite frankly, that they could not do this on their own. So the population was declining, the number of households, the educational attainment, all the things that retailers look for to make a good business decision. </p> <p> 00:06:52:15 - 00:07:18:12<br> Vickie Johnson<br> This community did not have it. But what they did have is a committed partner in Cleveland Clinic. So we leverage the number of caregivers on main campus, the number of patients that visit every day, the number of construction workers that parked cars. We use all of this data to have conversations, and were successful in attracting a high quality retailer. </p> <p> 00:07:18:15 - 00:07:45:08<br> Vickie Johnson<br> And now we're working together. It's Meyer, and they're using the urban format to work with us in the community. So 40,000ft² of fresh groceries that did not exist before for our community. And so we're really pleased and so happy about that because when we went back to the community in 2023 to have the same kind of conversation, to ask on a regular basis, how do you define health? </p> <p> 00:07:45:10 - 00:08:12:13<br> Vickie Johnson<br> How can we be a good partner? And we collect data. And once that was looked at, we found no one described a food desert anymore. No one said, can you help us with access to food anymore? And we also had an economic impact with the 50 jobs that were created as well as a result of that. So that's what we've been doing, is talking with the community on a regular basis. </p> <p> 00:08:12:13 - 00:08:39:17<br> Vickie Johnson<br> How can we be helpful and really be really transparent about what we can and what we cannot do, and then work together to make that happen? So in other communities, we do not have 20,000 caregivers. You know, we do not have that type of impact. But how can we leverage, again, our vendors to make those opportunities and to increase the healthiness of every community that we serve? </p> <p> 00:08:39:19 - 00:09:03:25<br> Nancy Myers<br> And I love how you talked about bringing your workforce in, your caregivers, because they are one of our first communities, right? And so being able to put in this market, as you have in Cleveland, serves the people who live in the neighborhood. And it also is a nice benefit and service to your team members, who I assume use it every day or on a regular basis as well. </p> <p> 00:09:03:27 - 00:09:24:25<br> Vickie Johnson<br> That is so true, and I would be remiss if I didn't say where we do not have those same opportunities because we don't have the same level of economic impact, we're working with local communities around food pantries and nourish pantries, where it's not just food, it's also the education and talking with a health care provider  - and almost issuing </p> <p> 00:09:24:25 - 00:09:49:28<br> Vickie Johnson<br> and we have - food prescriptions to make sure that we're making the connection. And again, food is health. And we have wonderful initiatives where we focus primarily on populations that need us the most, It's a place-based strategies. We've decided to focus on pregnant women and children around food and nutrition, infant and maternal health. All women in the community. </p> <p> 00:09:49:28 - 00:10:02:04<br> Vickie Johnson<br> So we've been able to really connect everything together: food insecurity, access to care, exercise, all of that to get to the outcomes that we hope to see in years to come. </p> <p> 00:10:02:06 - 00:10:17:24<br> Nancy Myers<br> Let's talk about what the outcomes are that you're measuring now, as well as those that you're looking to measure over time to see how you're making an impact through these programs and other community programs that you have in place. </p> <p> 00:10:17:26 - 00:10:40:15<br> Vickie Johnson<br> Well, time is the first thing we want to focus on. It will take time. And I think in health care, we're sometimes, you know, looking for instant results because that's what you see with health care in terms of surgery or medicine. And so in this case, we all know this will take time. So we look for indicators that evidence has shown us will have a difference. </p> <p> 00:10:40:15 - 00:11:20:06<br> Vickie Johnson<br> So for example we are looking for pre-and-post test. And so at the end of a 12 week or 16 week or 90 day initiative, whatever the time frame is, have we been able to increase one's awareness and knowledge and a change in behavior? For example, we have an initiative called Healthy Moms and Healthy Babies where we've eliminated barriers like transportation. Where a pregnant mom, she's pregnant and she has children, and so she's able to shop with $200 a month and shop for healthy food using her cell phone, </p> <p> 00:11:20:09 - 00:11:49:29<br> Vickie Johnson<br> using the computer. And having food either picked up or delivered at the door side. So through that experience, we're able to stay with that mom throughout the first year of the baby's birth. And then we can measure. And it's self-reported. And because we have community health workers that are really closely building relationships with these mothers, we know the change in behavior. </p> <p> 00:11:49:29 - 00:12:21:15<br> Vickie Johnson<br> We can believe it because we see it. We're closely aligned with them. So when we change our behavior and when we recognize, okay, we know better. I accept that and I'm actually going to change how I eat and what I purchase, how I prepare it. Then we can expect, based on evidence, that we will see an increase for example, in the birth weight of the newborn, we can see a change in the need for certain medications because we're eating better. </p> <p> 00:12:21:16 - 00:12:41:23<br> Vickie Johnson<br> So we're hoping and we expect to see a healthier community at the end of this work. And when it's not perfect, we do it again. You know, we continually form and keep these relationships with folks. And when you don't exercise as much as you used to, we'll start all over again because we're going to be in the community </p> <p> 00:12:41:23 - 00:13:15:04<br> Vickie Johnson<br> forever and we're there as a partner to institute these behaviors that we know will produce the outcome that we're looking for. The access to food piece, again, when we've removed the necessity of a person to buy their dinner at the gas station because they now can purchase it at a market, we know people will become healthier and the outcome and their future is brighter, because we've been a part of bringing that to the community. </p> <p> 00:13:15:07 - 00:13:44:15<br> Nancy Myers<br> Thanks so much. And one last question, kind of as a wrap up. We'll play Monday Morning quarterback. You've had several years of experience in this world. And you've had some successes and likely you've had some things that didn't go as planned. What are key pieces of advice, maybe 1 or 2 things that you would give to another organization that was either just starting out addressing some of these same things, or was interested in expanding the work that maybe they've already started. </p> <p> 00:13:44:18 - 00:14:22:06<br> Vickie Johnson<br> I think we have to give ourselves grace at the very beginning and celebrate every success. Sometimes we get caught up in huge numbers, but every success is huge to that individual, is huge for every child that we are a partner with to really care for people for life. And if we start well, then we can end well. You know, celebrate ten people completing an initiative, celebrate 30 and then those ten or 20 or 30 are going to share that experience with their neighbors. </p> <p> 00:14:22:06 - 00:14:55:23<br> Vickie Johnson<br> And then you'll get to the place where you're seeing 3 or 4 or 500 as we are today. We have a fitness center also on main campus with world class equipment, and now we're up to thousands of people that come in every day. Unique individuals that are using our fitness facilities with physicians on staff. You know, present, with dieticians present in the same building where you can have yoga and you can soon teach each other, teach your neighbors how to eat better. </p> <p> 00:14:55:23 - 00:15:21:09<br> Vickie Johnson<br> So be in this for the long term is what I would say. And community is also hard to measure impact. Again health care is different. We have 400 surgeries, you know, scheduled for today and we know the outcome within minutes. This is very different, but it has a greater impact in one's sustaining their health in the community in which they're living. </p> <p> 00:15:21:09 - 00:15:34:17<br> Vickie Johnson<br> So partner with the physicians and know that we are just as important and in some cases more important in partnering with patients when they go home and community members to live a healthy life. </p> <p> 00:15:34:19 - 00:15:52:23<br> Nancy Myers<br> Well, on behalf of AHA, I'd like to say thank you, Vicki, to you and your team and the Cleveland Clinic for the work that you are doing to make a difference one person at a time, one community at a time. It sounds like you've had amazing success and have many more successes to come. </p> <p> 00:15:52:25 - 00:15:54:26<br> Vickie Johnson<br> Thank you. </p> <p> 00:15:54:28 - 00:16:03:08<br> Tom Haederle<br> Thanks for listening to Advancing Health. Please subscribe and rate us five stars on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. </p> </details></div> Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:08:00 -0500 Population/Community Health /role-hospitals-saint-francis-hospital-health-systems-community-investing-program-fosters-positive-changes <div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-9"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-5"><p><img src="/sites/default/files/2025-06/ths-st-francis-hartford-chna-700x532.jpg" data-entity-uuid data-entity-type="file" alt="St. Francis Hospital. A health worker holding a tablet speaks with a patient at an outdoors community event" width="700" height="532"></p></div><p>A recent <a href="https://www.trinityhealthofne.org/sites/default/files/hg_features/mercury_standard_layout/7e52445bbeb2d965c884391a63839d9f.pdf">community health needs assessment</a> conducted by Saint Francis Hospital and local organizations in Hartford, Conn., indicated that 26% of Hartford residents have difficulty paying for food and 17% have difficulty paying for housing. Those percentages are much higher than statewide numbers, which are 11% and 9%, respectively. The CHNA also revealed that obesity affects about a third of adults in Greater Hartford, and diabetes rates are elevated among older adults, Black adults and low-income adults in the region.</p><p>Saint Francis, part of Trinity Health of New England and Trinity Health, participates in the health system’s Community Investing Program. This program supports local initiatives that build infrastructure to address issues such as food and housing insecurity and foster positive change.</p><p>The Community Investing Program has committed $5 million in Hartford to improve health and quality-of-life outcomes. Trinity Health’s community investments serve priority communities, which are areas that have faced severe economic challenges, received significant Medicaid or financial assistance support, or experienced past divestment.</p><p>Carolyn Alessi, regional director, community health and well-being, at Trintiy Health of New England, said, “Because of the support of Trinity Health and our community partners, we are able to provide not just clinical medical care, but transformative, life-changing opportunities that address food insecurity, workforce development, housing, education and more. We are so grateful for the support and collaboration in providing impactful support to our neighbors in need.”</p><p><a class="btn btn-primary" href="https://www.trinityhealthofne.org/newsroom/press-releases/saint-francis-hospital-collaborates-local-partners-lead-positive-change">LEARN MORE</a></p></div></div><div class="col-md-3"><div><h4>Resources on the Role of Hospitals</h4><ul><li><a href="/community-benefit">Benefiting Communities</a></li><li><a href="/roleofhospitals">All Case Studies</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div> Thu, 12 Jun 2025 14:57:14 -0500 Population/Community Health