Amid various societal, environmental and economic factors, improving the health of individuals and communities should be a collaborative effort codesigned with community stakeholders.
This was one of the findings of a report released Nov. 8 by the American Hospital Association that also sheds light on the community investment work being done by organizations that participated in Accelerating Investments for Healthy Communities, led by the Center for Community Investment. Support for the report was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Accelerating Investments for Healthy Communities, which took place from 2018 to 2021, aims to help hospitals and health systems deepen their investment in affordable housing, and move forward policies and practices that foster equitable housing solutions, according to the Center for Community Investment website. It involved team-based and peer-to-peer training and coaching, as well as funding opportunities. Participants and their focus regions are:
- Bon Secours Mercy Health System (Baltimore and Cincinnati)
- Boston Medical Center (Boston)
- Dignity Health (San Bernardino, Calif.)
- Kaiser Permanente (Prince George's and Montgomery counties in Maryland)
- Nationwide Children's Hospital (Columbus, Ohio)
- UPMC (Pittsburgh)
In the report, leaders from the participating hospitals and health systems discussed their own organization's progression to improve community health via community investment, defined, in part, as "investments intended to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in disadvantaged communities while producing some economic return for investors."
Four other takeaways, according to hospital and health system leaders:
1. Four professional roles or competencies that helped with community investment include having at least one employee who: can communicate the alignment of housing investment with larger organizational strategy and vision and provide content expertise on technical topics like housing.
2. Hospital and health system leaders said their organizations focused more on the "how" than the "why" in making the business case to key decision-makers regarding community investment. "Despite having moved on to the 'how,' building the case is still a work in progress for some systems, at least in terms of process," the report says.
3. It is crucial that housing investment projects be integrated into the organization's overall strategy to ensure long-term sustainability.
4. Hospital and health system leaders concluded that "one size does not fit all" in terms of reversing causes and effects of inequity in communities. They said this work requires partnerships, and it is important to match the the intervention scope to the depth of the problem.
Read the full report here. To view a new video series featuring health system leaders and subject matter experts discussing community investment, click here.