An Example of Regional Collaboration Success and Approaches in Public Health Innovation: Northwest North Carolina Partnership for Public Health

Demonstrating support for voluntary associations of local public health agencies, the North Carolina Legislature funds the NC Public Health Incubator Collaboratives (NCPHICs) or “Partnerships” to improve public health through a regional approach. Combining experience, expertise and resources of local Health Directors and staff, the goals are to support of positive health policy and effective grass roots projects.

The Northwest Partnership consists of 10 county health departments. As a region, the Northwest Partnership has explored projects in Workforce Development, Social Justice, and Best Practice approaches to public health. Local Health Directors in each county guide projects through a shared coordinator, with one Health Department acting as the fiscal agent. The Partnership has led improvements in WIC, Family Planning and Maternity Care services. The Partnership has conducted an Environmental Health staff satisfaction survey and a comparison between North Carolina and other Environmental Health programs.

Innovation is the common theme for Incubator projects. The Northwest Partnership has looked at variety of new solutions to old challenges. Solutions come from the expertise of staff across the ten-county region and are then shared with the other 90 counties in the state. The Partnership has also worked with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Appalachian State University and Western Carolina University.

This session will 1) provide a brief overview of North Carolina Public Health Incubators; 2) share products and best practices that have resulted from work in the Northwest region; and 3) share lessons learned that may be applied to other states.