Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112768

Amanda Vogel, ScM, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 611B St. Paul St., Baltimore, MD 21202, 410-539-6993, avogel@jhsph.edu, Pamela Ransom, PhD, Department of Public Administration, Long Island University, 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Daria Luisi, PhD, MPH, Bureau of Chronic Disease and Tobacco Control, Health Promotion Program, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2 Lafayette St 20th Floor CN 46, New York, NY 10007, and Sidique Wai, Resident Support Services Community Operations, New York City Housing Authority, 90 Church St, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10007.

Introduction: As public housing residents age in place, housing authorities are faced with demands for health services that are outside their scope of services. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developed a collaborative project with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to address these demands. The Senior Wellness Project provided health promotion and disease prevention services for older adults in 20 public housing developments. This paper describes this collaboration, and extracts lessons learned for other health and housing agencies planning to collaborate.

Methods: The partnership between DOHMH and NYCHA was analyzed using the Stages of Effective Collaboration model developed by Gardner. The model proposes four stages through which collaborations may progress.

Results: The Senior Wellness Project demonstrated characteristics of the first three stages of collaboration. The collaborators implemented a joint endeavor, obtained external funding, cross-trained staff, and changed some organizational barriers to project goals.

Discussion: The Senior Wellness Project established a model for NYCHA to collaborate with outside agencies to address residents' health needs. The project responded to multiple needs by creating additional partnerships within DOHMH and with outside agencies. Bureaucratic processes, redundancies in management, and the expansion of program activities beyond staffing capabilities were challenges. Recommendations include streamlining management, creating staff positions dedicated to the collaboration, integrating staff functions and accountability, and convening periodic leadership roundtables.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session participants will be able to

• Describe the Senior Wellness Project collaboration.
• Use the Stages of Effective Collaboration model to analyze past or ongoing collaborations.
• Take away recommendations for collaborations between large organizations.

Keywords: Collaboration, Housing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation