The newly launched BUILD Health Challenge initiative aims to increase partnerships between providers and community organizations that address the underlying causes for poor health in low-income communities.
“The aim of the BUILD Health Challenge really is to increase the number and the efficiency and the effectiveness of the types of partnerships that we know it will take to improve health,” Abbey Cofsky, senior program director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said during a briefing with reporters last week. “That means bringing together hospitals, community leaders and public health leaders to collaborate in efforts that are going to move the needle on health, and ultimately really change the dynamic around cost.”
The effort is sponsored by the Advisory Board Company, the de Beaumont Foundation, the Kresge Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
BUILD will award up to $3.5 million in grants and $4 million in low-interest loans across two years to up to 14 communities located in areas with a population of at least 150,000 people who are experiencing poor health outcomes.
Up to five $75,000 grants will be awarded across one year as well as up to nine $250,000 grants across a two-year period. Eligible applicants will be those that have three-way partnerships between a not-for-profit community organization, a hospital or health system, and a local health department.
Awardees will be determined based on their ability to come up with new ideas and approaches to problems concerning community health. Social issues such as poverty, safety, housing and lack of access to nutritious foods have been associated with higher rates of conditions such as hypertension, stroke, heart disease and diabetes in poor neighborhoods compared with more affluent communities.
A report released in January by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America found that nearly a fifth of all Americans are living in neighborhoods that are considered to be unhealthy due to limited job opportunities, limited access to healthy food, low-quality housing and limited space for physical activity.
An increasing number of health providers in recent years have begun to identify and address the social determinants that impact health. Several health systems have invested in social programs that help patients get into better housing, find a job, and get greater access to healthy foods in the hopes that such efforts will result in less utilization of medical services, lowering overall health costs.
“Today, hospitals and health systems are increasingly adopting a team-based approach to partner with patients to better manage their own health,” Robert Musslewhite, CEO of The Advisory Board Co., said in a written statement. “To have the greatest impact on community health, this team concept must expand beyond providers to include other key players in our communities.”
Grant applications will be accepted through Jan. 16, 2015, with awardees scheduled to be announced June 9.
Follow Steven Ross Johnson on Twitter: @MHsjohnson
