UMass Memorial Health Care community change efforts

With unprecedented investments in population health, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides an opportunity to transform health care delivery in a way that not only increases quality and efficiency but also increases community health and health equity. Because research has shown that environments and behaviors have the greatest sum impact on patient health, effectively integrating community prevention into health services delivery will be critical to ACA implementation and overall efforts to expand coverage, improve quality, and reduce costs.  Recognizing this imperative, visionary health care leaders across the country are developing innovative approaches to drive integration and action to improve community environments and overall health outcomes. They are pushing their institutions beyond solely improving the health of individual patients to also taking an active role in strengthening their surrounding communities. This presentation is intended as part of a full session facilitated by Prevention Institute in which three-four (such health leaders will present on how their institutions are adopting unique and innovative approaches to community change, including payment system reform, advanced data analysis, partnership building, and policy advocacy.

UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester, MA has initiated a landmark effort to use existing data collection and assessment processes, including Community Health Needs Assessments, as the basis for successful city-wide community change efforts dependent on collaboration with public health stakeholders. In this session, we will discuss the formation and functioning of the hospital’s partnerships with government and community entities; specific strategies and evaluation measures that have been employed to improve city-wide healthy weight initiative, pediatric asthma and violence prevention; and how these activities have positioned the hospital and its partners to successfully pursue additional resources including from Massachusetts’ new Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund. We will frame this discussion in terms of how the work fits with the mission and purpose of the hospital and will discuss strategies for engaging health care institutions as partners and future directions for the work in Worcester.