Live Well San Diego

Six years ago, the San Diego County Health and Human Services (HHSA) Director decided to take a look around his county and explore some basic questions: Why was San Diego, like so many places, spending so much on medical care and getting such meager results? What key factors contribute to poor health in many San Diego communities? And how could his Agency, working with community partners, start addressing these problems? The Director, along with HHSA Executive leaders, convened meetings with medical care (e.g., hospital, clinic, medical group) and social services providers, public and behavioral health leaders, and community organization leaders. The intent was to create a plan to improve health services and alter the community conditions that give rise to chronic disease and poor health. Out of this process was born an aggressive 10-year plan that aims to dramatically improve the health of San Diego’s communities and population through the collective efforts of a broad range of traditional and nontraditional partners. In this session, Mr. Macchione will describe the successes and challenges of developing this comprehensive countywide approach to health improvement and will then lay out a vision for the future of the effort and discuss its applicability to other jurisdictions.