MARICOPA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH NAMED A SCALE AWARDEE BY INSTITUTE FOR HEALTHCARE IMPROVEMENT
Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH), on behalf of the Health Improvement Partnership of Maricopa County (HIPMC), today announced it has been named a final awardee and will receive funding from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to support promising community-based work on health improvement, as part of the SCALE (Spreading Community Accelerators through Learning and Evaluation) initiative. Made possible by a $4.8 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and led by IHI, Community Solutions, Communities Joined in Action, and the Collaborative Health Network, SCALE will help communities further their capability to improve the health of targeted populations and develop ways to share and spread community-driven approaches across the country.
SCALE is designed to jumpstart an unprecedented community-to-community learning system right out of the gate in that the initiative matches four “mentor communities” – those with a recent track record of achieving better health – with 20 “pacesetter communities” that are seeking to accelerate their pace of change.
“After reviewing hundreds of impressive applications, we are pleased to welcome these 24 communities to the SCALE initiative and to bring them together to deepen their ability to create effective improvement and to generously share what’s currently working in various locales,” stated Soma Stout, MD, MS, Principal Innovator in SCALE, and Executive External Lead, Health Improvement, IHI.
Through participation in SCALE as a “Pacesetter” community, MCDPH, in conjunction with four HIPMC member organizations, will have access to high level capacity building support for community health improvement plan initiatives through assistance with process improvement, creating shared metrics, evaluation and community engagement strategies over the course of 20 months (May 2015 through December 2016).
“We are excited to have this opportunity to work alongside our community partners to build upon our successes and advance the work of the HIPMC in achieving a common vision of health, well-being, and equity for Maricopa County,” said Dr. Bob England, director of MCDPH.
The Health Improvement Partnership of Maricopa County (HIPMC) is a multi-sectoral coalition of more than 60 organizations collectively working to implement the 2012-2017 Maricopa County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). The CHIP identifies areas where we can have the largest impact on improving the quality of life for all residents, particularly the most vulnerable. The CHIP focuses on the five health priorities that were identified in the 2012 Maricopa County Community Health Assessment: obesity, diabetes, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and access to care (read more at www.maricopahealthmatters.org).
MCDPH is regarded as the backbone organization for the HIPMC, providing a stable infrastructure including staffing, meeting facilitation, communications, evaluation and epidemiological support. HIPMC partners contribute expertise in working with targeted populations, especially those experiencing health disparities, and implementing a wide variety of evidence-based and promising practice interventions.
The HIPMC provides the infrastructure to share ideas and resources, identify gaps and barriers, and engage in thoughtful planning to achieve its vision of “empowered communities working together to reach optimal health and quality of life for all”. HIPMC partners include a diverse representation across its four sectors: Community (Where We Live), Worksites (Where We Work), Education (Where We Learn), and Healthcare (Where We Seek Care).
Key partners for this SCALE initiative include a representation of our partners from across our sectors and each has been a foundational partner of the HIPMC.
Banner Health, is a strong partner in the Healthcare Sector. As one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health care systems, Banner Health operates an integrated system that seeks to provide equal access to quality to the community.
Esperança is a key partner within the Community Sector, working to provide nutrition, healthy eating and physical activity education to un-and-under-insured families. Esperança’s CHIP initiatives focus on serving Latino children and families, who data shows disproportionately suffer from obesity.
FitPHX, is a Phoenix citywide healthy-living initiative created by Mayor Greg Stanton, Vice Mayor Daniel T. Valenzuela and Olympic Gold Medalist Misty Hyman. FitPHX actively leads CHIP initiatives with businesses, nonprofits and other government agencies to develop partnerships to encourage residents to lead healthier lifestyles at work, home and play.
Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD), one of the largest community college systems in the country, is a partner who supports both the Education and Worksite sectors. MCCCD leads initiatives to eliminate tobacco use and create a learning and working environment that promotes health.
SCALE communities will seek to obtain improved health outcomes, spread effective best practices as quickly as possible in order to realize improvements in health, and become beacons and resources for any community, anywhere, striving to obtain the best health possible – especially those communities most vulnerable to poor health due to poverty, violence, or lack of social supports. The initiative will tap into the expertise of Abraham H. Wandersman, PhD, from the University of South Carolina, who will lead a team of experts in formative evaluation across institutions.
SCALE marks the first community-based program of the recently announced global initiative, 100 Million Healthier Lives, led by IHI and 140 founding partners. Through unprecedented collaboration, this initiative aims to achieve an audacious goal: 100 million people living healthier lives by 2020. To date, nearly 500 patients, community members, leaders, organizations, and implementers across the domains of public health, community health, health care, policy, academia, business, and financing have joined the 100 Million Healthier Lives initiative, with additional members welcome to join here.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at www.rwjf.org/facebook.
About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement
IHI is a leading innovator in health and health care improvement worldwide. For more than 25 years, we have partnered with visionaries, leaders, and front-line practitioners around the globe to spark bold, inventive ways to improve the health of individuals and populations. Recognized as an innovator, convener, trustworthy partner, and driver of results, we are the first place to turn for expertise, help, and encouragement for anyone, anywhere who wants to change health and health care profoundly for the better. To advance our mission, IHI’s work is focused in five key areas: Improvement Capability; Person- and Family-Centered Care; Patient Safety; Quality, Cost, and Value; and Triple Aim for Populations. Learn more at ihi.org.
About Community Solutions
Community Solutions is a registered 501(c)(3) organization that helps communities solve the complex problems facing their most vulnerable, hard hit members. We work from eight locations to assist communities throughout the United States and internationally. http://cmtysolutions.org/
About Communities Joined in Action
Communities Joined in Action (CJA) is a private, non-profit membership organization of nearly 200 community health collaboratives – each of our members being committed to improving health, improving access, and eliminating disparities in their communities. Our mission is to mobilize and assist these community health collaboratives to assure better health for all people at less cost. http://cjaonline.net
About Collaborative Health Network
Collaborative Health Network is a vibrant network that connects diverse stakeholders and trusted groups who are working to improve community health and healthcare, especially those taking a multi-sector, collaborative approach. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and led by the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI), the Collaborative Health Network is designed to accelerate the adoption of what is working locally, and to identify the next generation of challenges. http://www.nrhi.org/collaborative-health-network