Coalition targets strategies to strengthen health care, public health partnership  

The AHA, AHIP, Alliance of Community Health Plans, American Medical Association and Kaiser Permanente have formed a coalition that will recommend strategies to strengthen coordination between the health care and public health systems to improve emergency preparedness, address health disparities and detect infectious diseases. The Common Health Coalition will work with experts and ChangeLab Solutions to publish recommendations early next year. 
 
“As the pandemic showed, far too often the hospital field has been forced to step in and plug gaps in our public health infrastructure,” said Michelle Hood, steering committee member and AHA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “While hospitals are always there, ready to care, in good times and bad, we cannot shoulder this burden alone. This is why the AHA and our members have long been engaged in building collaborations, improving partnerships, and advocating for a stronger, more resilient, and responsive public health sector. The AHA is proud to be a founding partner of the Common Health Coalition with these other national organizations to further improve partnerships and increase support for the critical components of our country’s health care system.”