'Bronx-CATCH': A multi-stakeholder collaboration to improve community health in the Bronx, NY

The Bronx-CATCH (Collective Action to Transform Community Health) program represents a partnership between a hospital network, a municipal health department, community-based organizations, and local political leaders, collaborating to improve both individual patient outcomes and the health of the neighborhoods surrounding the hospital's community-based FQHC sites. Since 2010, leadership at three FQHCs at Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, worked collaboratively with local leadership of the NYC Dept of Health & Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH) and community leaders to: 1)Map FQHC neighborhood demographics, epidemiology and health-related resources; 2)Review FQHC patent clinical characteristics; 3)Plan coordinated health-promoting interventions for these neighborhoods; and 4.)Develop an evaluation plan for tracking outcomes at both clinic and neighborhood levels. Outcome variables were chosen to reflect the NYCDOHMH “Take Care New York” strategic plan, pertaining to obesity, nutrition, physical activity, and tobacco use, using both clinically derived information and population-level data from ongoing health department surveys. Interventions chosen have focused on changing local retail food environments to increase availability of fruits and vegetables, collaborating with School Wellness Councils, and improving local access to active transportation and recreational opportunities. Program expansion to other FQHC sites will follow evaluation of this first phase. Health departments and hospitals share a common interest in changing local environments to improve the health both of patients and their surrounding communities. A model of multi-stakeholder collaboration to promote health in specific neighborhood settings, with integrated evaluation methods to track both clinical and population health outcomes, shows promise for overcoming traditional boundaries between clinical care and public health.