Announcing the Intersections Initiative: An emerging model for health system transformation

Prevention Institute and St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund team up to improve health and equity

PI is excited to announce our partnership with the St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund and seven California-based community collaboratives working to improve health and equity.

Funded partners within the Intersections Initiative will address community factors that shape health, safety, and wellbeing—and provide a model for other healthcare systems that want to go beyond the exam room and into the community to address the underlying causes of illness and injury. To create meaningful and sustainable change, the initiative intends to break down barriers that exist between sectors and test out unified approaches to improving lives, enhancing health, and building justice.
"We want to show that healthcare systems can play a meaningful role in community partnerships designed to reduce the need for services in the first place."
-Jason Lacsamana, senior program officer, St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund
The seven Intersections communities—Anaheim, Central Orange County, South Orange County, the High Desert, Eureka, Sonoma, and Napa—will work on issues like affordable housing, education, workforce development and living wages, immigration, community trauma, and civic engagement as strategies to improve population health and address health inequities. Priority issues and strategies were identified by community-based organizations, residents, and local stakeholders.

The initiative, which is funded by St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund and facilitated by Prevention Institute, will take place from 2018 through 2020. We look forward to sharing lessons along the way.
 

Spotlight on THRIVE: Tool for Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Communities
PI’s Tool for Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE) digs into the community-level factors that support or undermine health and equity, and helps communities understand, prioritize, and take action to transform community conditions.
 
Communities participating in the Intersections Initiative are using THRIVE to assess community conditions, engage partners, and develop strategies to change policies.
 
Learn more about THRIVE and how you can put this tool to work in your community here.
 

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