Add-on Experiences

Using Your Hospital’s Portfolio to Invest in Community Health

Across the country, hospitals are leveraging assets, including land, capital, relationships, and expertise, to reduce health disparities and ensure that people can lead healthy lives, whatever their zip code. This session will share lessons for institutions considering or launching community investment initiatives. Drawing on resources developed with AHA’s Center for Health Innovation, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, and NeighborWorks America, participants will explore ways to build community investment strategies, points of entry into the process, and roles that their health system might fill in the investment landscape. They will learn to build strategies by selecting partners, setting appropriate targets, identifying investment opportunities, and leveraging health system resources. Participants will return home ready to engage with colleagues and local partners in formulating and executing an ambitious yet realistic strategy that serves the mission of their institution, strengthens its standing in the community, and contributes to community wellbeing and health equity.

Community Health Workers are the Bridge between Care and Community

As health care organizations continue to build their health equity and population health strategies, interdisciplinary care teams are instrumental to addressing their patients’ medical and social needs. Community health workers are uniquely positioned to bridge clinical care and community. Join this workshop to explore how to make the case for embedding community health workers into care teams and learn what it takes to set up a robust and sustainable CHW program.

Renewed Resources for Community Health Assessment and Improvement Planning

Hospitals, local health departments and community-based social service agencies conduct regular assessments of the health-related assets and needs of the communities they serve. To support these efforts, the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Catholic Health Association (CHA) and the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) each provide guidance and tools on how to facilitate and engage in community health assessment and improvement efforts to their constituents. All three organizations recently updated their respective guidance (AHA’s Community Health Assessment Toolkit, CHA’s Community Benefit Guide, and NACCHO’s Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships) to align with current practice and to more intentionally center health equity, including through partnerships and authentic community collaboration. Join this session to learn about these updated resources; to hear how hospitals, local health departments and community-based agencies are evolving their assessment and improvement planning practices; and to participate in a series of interactive exercises focused on more collaboratively and equitably understanding and addressing the strengths and needs of your communities.

Allina Health

At Allina Health, we believe everyone deserves Whole Person Care that recognizes all factors affecting health, including mind, body, spirit, and community. We’re committed to transforming care for our communities and delivering Whole Person Care as part of our Population Health efforts. That means ensuring our patients receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time. Our approach to advancing health equity requires adaptive and transformational change and innovation to ensure our whole person care approach to population health includes an intentional focus on eliminating health disparities in access, experience, and outcomes.

Field trip highlights:

• Allina Health developed a population health and health equity strategy to show their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. See how this work comes to life for their patients and communities.
• Visit the Midtown Global Market, a bustling internationally-themed market with stalls selling food and crafts from around the world.
• Learn how Allina delivers culturally-responsive care to East African immigrant families.

Children's Minnesota

As the largest pediatric health system in the state, Children’s Minnesota knows health is largely determined by factors outside the walls of our hospitals and clinics. In order to make a real impact, Children’s Minnesota is focused on health equity initiatives and partnerships with local community organizations to ensure resources are available where kids and families live, work and play. This field visit will include a trip to Second Harvest Heartland, one of the largest and most innovative hunger-relief organizations in the nation and a key partner for Children’s Minnesota.

Field trip highlights:

• Participants will learn about Second Harvest Heartland’s mission and Children’s Minnesota’s health equity and community partnership strategies.
• Our Community Connect program, which partners with Second Harvest Heartland to address families’ health-related social needs by connecting them to existing community resources, including food pantries and culturally-specific food support.
• Learn how Children’s Minnesota and Second Harvest have advocated for free school meals for all students in Minnesota.

Hennepin

Join the Hennepin Healthcare Systems (HHS) Health Equity Department for a tour of the Clinic and Specialty Care Building, where attendees will learn about the development of a health equity department in a level 1 trauma center safety net hospital, and its program that focuses on health equity and anti-racism.

Field trip highlights:

• Hennepin developed a health equity department in a level-one trauma center safety net hospital with programs that focus on health equity and anti-racism.  
• Visit the HHS East Lake Clinic which largely served Latinx, Black and Somali residents, which was destroyed in a fire during the social unrest after the murder of George Floyd, and hear from staff about rebuilding the community clinic. 

M Health Fairview

Visit two M Health Fairview place-based partnership sites advancing health equity in collaboration with community. First, tour the Health Commons Cedar Riverside, a drop-in health and wellness center located within the Riverside housing complex in Minneapolis that has provided free healthcare services to the Cedar Riverside neighborhood since 2014. Learn about this transcultural nursing model and partnership between the Augsburg University Department of Nursing, East Africa Health Project, and People's Center Health Services.

Field trip highlights:

• Visit Health Commons Cedar Riverside, a drop-in health and wellness center located within the Riverside housing complex in Minneapolis.
• Learn about this transcultural nursing model and partnership between the Augsburg University Department of Nursing, East Africa Health Project, and People's Center Health Services.
• Explore the new Fairview Community Health and Wellness Hub opened in the former St. Joseph’s Hospital in downtown St. Paul.