On October 1st, Health Affairs published From Emergencies To Equity: The Growing Role Of Hospitals In Community Health, a blog co-authored by Jason Lacsamana of St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund and Prevention Institute’s Sandra Viera, Katie Miller, and Sonja Lockhart. 

The blog describes the Intersections Initiative, which brings together coalitions from seven California communities served by Providence St. Joseph Health System hospitals with the goal of advancing health equity by addressing the community conditions that shape health and safety outcomes. The initiative is funded by St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund and facilitated by Prevention Institute.

"Clinical strategies alone won’t lead to healthier outcomes. It is critical to address the root causes of health problems and eliminate health inequities."

Intersections coalitions in Sonoma; Napa; Victorville and Adelanto; urban central Orange County; Anaheim; south Orange County; and Eureka are addressing a multitude of community factors that local organizations have identified as affecting community health and health equity. These include housing, education, civic engagement, and economic well-being, recognizing that these issues and others affect community health and health equity. They aim to change systems and policies that create the need for social and health services in the first place.

The blog concludes by urging health systems and funders to engage in community-level initiatives that take on the upstream causes of health problems and seek solutions to them.

Read the full blog post here.