Hospital-Community Partnership Teams
At its core, the HCC is comprised of hospital-community teams from across the United States working to strengthen their partnerships. The HCC program is proud to highlight stories from the field on leading practices for strengthening community partnerships.
Nearly 50 hospitals and more than 100 community partners from across the country have participated in the Hospital Community Collaborative over the last several years. These teams are generally comprised of an AHA member hospital and a cross-sector partner(s) of their choosing, such as a community-based social service agency, local health department, business partner or other. Program participants are front-line leaders — such as directors, vice presidents, senior vice presidents — who work in hospitals, health systems, public health and community-based organizations.
Stories from the Field
When Your World Begins to Shrink
Thie eBook tells the story of the stress and strain of caring for people who are critically ill, and how a successful partnership between Community Memorial Health System and the Ventura County Community Health Improvement Collaborative in Ventura, California helped make a positive difference.
Breast Cancer Screening Awareness
Watch this case study video on how the HCC member MultiCare Health and partners came together to improve disparities in breast cancer education and awareness affecting African-American women in Tacoma, Washington.
AHA Podcast Series: Caring for Family Caregivers
This series explores the many facets of the Caregiver Navigators program, a community partnership-driven initiative from the HCC alumni in Ventura, California.
Maureen Hodge, high-risk program manager, and Janice Aharon-Ezer, clinical program manager, Community Memorial Health System
AHA’s Nancy Myers, vice president, leadership and system innovation, joins Hodge and Aharon-Ezer for a discussion on the family caregiver role and how hospital-community partners can support family caregivers.
Dale Harmon, family caregiver, Ventura, Calif.
Harmon shares his personal experiences as a family caregiver to his wife Gloria, who is battling dementia, and how the support he’s received from CMHS’s caregiver navigator program has made a positive difference.
Maziar Goshtasbi, M.D., gerontologist, Community Memorial Health System
Goshtasbi discusses the growing number of patients who rely on family caregivers and why they need hospital, family and community involvement as part of their holistic care.
Lynette Harvey, clinical services director, Camarillo Health Care District
Harvey discusses how hospital-community partnerships are necessary to innovate patient care and provide family caregivers with greater support today and as they prepare for the future.
News
Teams and Initiatives
Charlotte, NC
Atrium Health and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control are developing a behavioral health workgroup to address barriers and provide access to behavioral health care and support services for mental health providers, especially in schools.
Salt Lake City, UT
Intermountain Healthcare Community Health is partnering with the Utah State Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Substance Use and Mental Health to offer expanded tele-behavioral health services and suicide prevention training, among other resources, for individuals, families and communities across the state.
Springfield, IL
Memorial Health and the Morgan County Health Department are launching an anti-stigma campaign to encourage people to seek mental health services. This will include advocating for more mental health services in rural areas and helping patients utilize telehealth services by providing easy access to mental health professionals.
Hollywood, FL
At the community level, Memorial Healthcare System and the Broward Healthy Start Coalition are establishing SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment) screenings at Memorial’s primary care centers, mobile health units and community services department, as well as at health fairs and special events.
Memphis, TN
Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare, in partnership with North Hospital and Alliance Healthcare Services, are collaborating to improve communication, documentation, intake processes and referral systems across their organizations to better serve patients with acute mental health needs.
Lake Success, NY
Northwell Health is partnering with the Mental Health Association for Nassau County and the Association for Mental Health and Wellness, as well as two community mental health agencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, to train faith leaders on addressing signs of mental illness and substance abuse in their communities.
Owensboro, KY
Owensboro Health Regional Hospital, together with the Green River District Health Department and RiverValley Behavioral Health, are partnering to better assess the landscape of community mental health needs in their area and better integrate mental health services at various access points.
Farmington, MO
Parkland Health Center and SEMO Behavioral Health, a community-based social service agency, are working on the “Dream Big St. Francois County” initiative to expand housing, care services and more to the population with behavioral health needs they serve.
Pittsburgh, PA
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Hope Grows, a local nonprofit providing caregiver support services, are focusing on providing first-time caregivers with important information and resources they need to get started and feel supported throughout their journeys.
Nashville, TN
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Metro Public Health Department, and Ascension Saint Thomas are advancing their enduring partnership to address structural drivers of mental health needs and improve health care evaluation efforts across the community and region.
Ventura, CA
Community Memorial Health System is partnering with Ventura County Public Health and Adventist Health Simi Valley to address the burden of caregiving many families with older relatives face, and find ways to improve the provision of value-based services to those in need.
Bremen, IN
Community Hospital of Bremen, part of Beacon Health System, is partnering with Cultivate Food Rescue in an expansion of food insecurity efforts to rural areas in their community.
Atlantic City, NJ
In Atlantic City, challenges for persons experiencing homelessness have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center is partnering with the city’s Department of Planning and Development and Jewish Family Service of Atlantic and Cape May counties to address housing and homelessness in the area.
Mission Viejo, CA
Providence-Mission Hospital has assembled a coalition to develop a strategic plan to address health inequities among low-income and communities of color in the region. This coalition includes Family Assistance Ministries, Friendship Shelter, Unidos South County, CHIRLA and Families Forward.
Lanham, MD
Luminis Health has joined the Greater Riverdale Thrives coalition to work together to address food insecurity issues exacerbated by the pandemic in Riverdale Park, MD and surrounding areas.
Arlington, TX
Texas Health, Erath County United Way and Tarleton State University are teaming up to address to address depression and anxiety, food insecurity, and navigation to health care and social services among residents in rural Erath County.
Boise, ID
St. Luke’s Health System and the American Cancer Society are partnering to address rural food insecurity issues in their community.
Stockton, CA
Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center (part of CommonSpirit Health) is partnering with the San Joaquin County Public Health Services and the Reinvent South Stockton Coalition to improve park district spaces and programming offerings as a means to address high rates of obesity, chronic disease, violence and mental health challenges.
Nashua, NH
The Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, NH Hunger Solutions and Greater Nashua Food Council are working together to address food insecurity in their community.
Joplin, MO
Two hospitals—Freeman Health System and Mercy Hospital Joplin — together with the United Way of SW Missouri and SE Kansas, are joining forces to develop a closed-loop referral system and better coordinate social services across their region.
Baltimore, MD
LifeBridge Health and Live Chair Health, a startup focused on closing the life expectancy gap for African-American men and women by leveraging trusted community relationships between salon stylists and customers, are teaming up to improve health care access and engagement in West Baltimore.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital and Chinese Community Health Resource Center are teaming up to provide improved social service coordination and integrated community education for residents in their community.
Indianapolis, IN
Indiana University Health is engaging in a regional health equity planning effort with partners Health by Design and the Indiana Public Health Association.
Edison, NJ
Hackensack Meridian Health is partnering with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and Fulfill New Jersey to address food insecurity needs via a structured regional approach across multiple distribution pathways. This approach, combined with an enhanced, cross-sector community strategy, will help meet the needs of 1.2 million people across eight counties.
Norman, OK
In Oklahoma, Norman Regional Health System and the City of Norman are teaming up to more equitably distribute COVID vaccines to residents.
Green Bay, WI
In Wisconsin, Bellin Hospital and Achieve Brown County are working together to address behavioral health and well-being among pediatric and adolescent populations.
Southfield, MI
Beaumont Health and CARE of Southeastern Michigan are partnering to address behavioral health and substance abuse issues among affected residents in their community.
Mount Pleasant, TX
In Texas, the Titus Regional Medical Center and City of Mount Pleasant are working together to improve community health outcomes for residents.
Winona, MN
In Minnesota, Winona Health is partnering with the Winona County’s Health and Human Services Department to address community and behavioral health issues among children that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maywood, IL
In the greater Chicago area, Loyola Medicine (part of Trinity Health) is working with Proviso Partners for Health on community health improvement for their shared community.
HCC’s Texas United team is tackling a full range of social determinants of health in its communities. Source: Erath County, TX
HCC’s Mission Viejo, CA. team is improving park district spaces and programs in their community. Source: Stockton, CA
In southeastern Michigan, a cross-sector team is addressing behavioral health and substance abuse issues. Source: Southfield, MI
HCC’s Nashua, New Hampshire team is combatting food insecurity issues. Source: Nashua, NH
The Joplin, Missouri team is improving social service coordination across the region. Source: Joplin, MO
HCC’s Indianapolis team is working on cross-sector regional health equity planning. Source: Indianapolis, IN
HCC’s Green Bay team is tackling children’s behavioral health and well-being. Source: Green Bay, WI
In rural Indiana, the Bremen Café team is improving food security. Source: Bremen, IN
Building relationships in community salons and barbershops serves as the foundation for improving health care access for HCC’s Baltimore team. Source: Baltimore, MD
To address food insecurity on a regional level, Hackensack Meridian Health is partnering with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and Fulfill New Jersey. Source: Hackensack Meridian Health