Hospitals and health systems have a long history of leading efforts to improve the health of individuals and communities. Hospital teams partner with community organizations to address priority health needs in our communities and work to encourage healthy behaviors among patients and community members.
At the AHA’s Accelerating Health Equity Conference in May, I had the honor of presenting the 2024 Dick Davidson NOVA Awards to five organizations that are doing extraordinary work to address critical health challenges and create and sustain healthy environments in their communities.
Here is a brief introduction to the winning programs.
- Essentia Health launched Resourceful, an online directory of nearly 5,000 community organizations that can help patients with life challenges that affect their health, such as food insecurity, housing insecurity and traffic congestion. The health system serves a rural area of more than 1 million people across parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. Community health workers use Resourceful to connect people with certified programs that offer free or low-cost services.
- John Muir Health leads the Overcoming Violence program, providing vital support to victims of assaults, stabbings and shootings, setting them on a path to healing and safety. The program partners with several nonprofit community organizations to fill gaps in violence prevention and intervention services. The team includes seven intervention specialists and four mental health therapists. Since its launch in 2010, nearly all of the program’s 700 clients have avoided further injury.
- Munson Healthcare launched a Street Medicine program to provide care to unhoused people in Traverse City, Michigan. Street Medicine medical professionals see approximately 300 patients a year, providing vaccinations, treating opioid addiction, distributing hygiene products and making referrals to housing resources. One of the unique features of the program is that it includes residents from primary care, psychiatry and pharmacy.
- Palomar Health of San Diego County opened its Child Advocacy Center and Forensic Health Services in 1984 to help people of all ages suffering from physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence and human trafficking. In 2021, it expanded its community care services with a newly designated Trauma Recovery Center and became California’s state hospital-based training center for forensic examinations. These programs provide a full range of services to people affected by violence.
- University Hospitals in Cleveland established Food for Life Markets to provide healthy foods to patients living in food-insecure areas and help them manage obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Clinicians also refer patients to Food for Life Markets if they test positive for one or two “hunger vital sign” statements. Patients referred to the markets have seen their blood pressure drop, and diabetics have seen their A1C scores improve.
To learn more and watch videos about the impact these hospitals and health systems are making in their communities, visit AHA.org. A post-event playbook from AHA’s Accelerating Health Equity Conference also highlights hospital-community partnerships that improve health outcomes and eliminate disparities.
Applications for the 2025 AHA Dick Davidson NOVA Award open Aug. 19, so be sure to apply and share your organization’s collaborative work to improve community health. For more information, visit AHA.org.
I am proud of the work we do at Dartmouth Health through community partnerships and commend all of the hospitals and health systems across the country who serve as leaders and valued partners in our efforts to improve the health of all individuals and communities.