June 10-14, was Community Health Improvement Week! The American Hospital Association’s Community Health Improvement (ACHI) network uses Community Health Improvement Week as a time to honor those working in partnership to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities, and to advance health equity. The Health Collaborative joined ACHI efforts by highlighting recent and ongoing stories of many of our regional partners, using the top priorities of our Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
Dr. Lauren Bartoszek, our Director of Community Health Strategies shares: “As we conclude CHI Week, we want to extend our gratitude to all our partners for their invaluable contributions and dedication toward making a tangible difference in the lives of those they serve. Your stories and insights on the initiatives you’ve worked on over the years to align with the Regional CHIP priorities has been inspiring and instrumental in driving collection action.
Looking ahead to 2024, we are excited to continue building on this momentum as we are building out the next iteration of the CHNA and CHIP along with our member hospitals, health departments, and other key community stakeholders.”
We appreciate all our partners who sent highlights to include in our community’s #CHIWeek spotlights! This list includes Adams County Regional Medical Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Last Mile Food Rescue, Life Time Resources, Lindner Center of Hope, Margaret Mary Health, Mercy Health, TriHealth, and UC Health.
To recap all the Community Health Improvement stories we shared this week:
Adams County Regional Medical Center’s Affordable Community Health Screenings
The Adams County Regional Medical Center and all 6 Family Medicine clinics create a strong impact by hosting affordable community health screenings the entire month of June. To make healthcare as accessible as possible, these are open to everyone in the region. In June 2023, they served more than 650 local citizens with low-cost blood screenings!
Lindner Center of Hope executes a model of community outreach and education to reduce and eliminate stigma when it comes to mental health care.
Lindner Center of HOPE executes a model of community outreach and education to reduce and eliminate stigma. Already in 2024, Lindner Center has reached more than 500 community members with education on coping and post-traumatic stress; held a half-day community event with more than 200 in attendance; and educated more than 2000 professionals!
UC Health uses a comprehensive approach to tackle food insecurity at the system and patient level, including partnering with Last Mile Food Rescue to reduce food waste.
UC Health uses a comprehensive approach to address food insecurity in the community, at both the system and patient level! UC Health partners with Last Mile Food Rescue program, a transformative initiative aimed at combating food waste and addressing community food insecurity. Last Mile leverages the power of volunteers and the Last Mile app to rescue food from businesses and deliver it to partner agencies such as shelters and food pantries. Additionally, UC Health partners with the Sam Hubbard Foundation, and the Freestore Foodbank on the innovative program: “Food is Medicine”. This program actively screens patients for food insecurity during primary care visits. Those identified receive immediate support through an in-office food pantry stocked with essentials and hygiene items. Additionally, patients are provided vouchers for fresh produce at the Freestore Foodbank locations.
The TriHealth Mobile Mammography Van provides early breast cancer detection screenings to women throughout Greater Cincinnati.
the TriHealth Mobile Mammography Van uses cutting-edge technology and experienced, board-certified technologists to provide early breast cancer detection services to women throughout the Greater Cincinnati area – on average, more than 4,000 screenings a year! Images are read by TriHealth radiologists at one of their Breast Imaging locations.
Cincinnati Children’s opens new Mental Health facility in College Hill!
To improve access to mental health services, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center is opening a new facility in College Hill! This building will house an expanding group of programs to provide the most advanced evidenced-based care for children and adolescents, including a Family Resource Center, an enhanced educational center, therapeutic treatment spaces, and more! To read about the new Cincinnati Children’s facility: cincinnatichildrens.org/news/release/2023/college-hill
AmeriCorps – Mercy Serves program works to reduce barriers and improve access to food, transportation, housing, and healthcare resources by screening for health-related social needs within the Emergency Department.
The AmeriCorps Mercy Serves program helps reduce barriers and improve access to food, transportation, housing and healthcare resources by conducting routine screenings for health-related social needs within the Emergency Department. As of April 2024, for the service year of 2023-2024, Mercy Serves members have conducted 2432 related screenings! Another way in which Mercy has worked to improve access to care, is through the Mercy Health Perinatal Outreach Program, which works alongside clinical teams and community partners to bring critical support to high-risk parents-to be during their pregnancy and beyond! In 2023, the team served 74 pregnant women, 82% of whom were Black or African American.
Margaret Mary Community Hospital’s Catch-A-Ride program pays all costs to provide patients trips to medical appointments.
Margaret Mary Health partners with Life Time Resources for their transportation program, Catch-A-Ride! Through the hospital’s foundation, this program manages all costs, including use of their handicap accessible van. In 2023, the program delivered 1369 Health Rides to medical appointments!
