Strategies
A key function of the SHD Board is to develop the overarching strategy to guide the impact the organization wants to make to improve community health. Providing funding support for local health clinics has long been one of SHD’s core pillars. The major influences on health, however, lie outside the clinic. Health is shaped by:
Health care
Health behaviors
The physical and social environments
Socioeconomic status
Public policy
People can only make the choices they have. They cannot eat well if they live in a food desert, they cannot exercise or play outside if the built environment is unsafe. The social environment, for example, domestic trauma, social isolation, residential segregation, and structural racism, can also harm health. Socioeconomic status often influences education, which affects income and wealth. Financial wellbeing has a direct impact on physical and mental wellbeing. All of these social indicators of health are part of the complex ecosystem of community health. The balance and totality of these elements must be considered in public health policy. At the local level, — where the real work gets done and the impact shows up — what really matters is paying very close attention to where and how SHD funds are allocated and optimized.
SHD is in a unique position to be a driving force for building capacity through strategic partnerships, focusing on improving systems, and bringing solutions to scale. These are ways SHD can be a stand out leader in community health. These are the key strategies I will be focused on. It is all about people, principles, partnerships, programs, and processes:
Regularly engage with community members to learn about unmet and emerging healthcare needs and their health priorities to inform internal planning and investment decisions.
Embracing the community as partners in health and emergency preparedness and response.
Advocating for equitable access for residents in neighborhoods that are still impacted by the legacy of red lining.
Investing in technology enabled efforts to increase access and speed provider responsiveness. Pandemic-era adaptations have shown the value of technologies that enable remote and virtual experiences to improve health outside of clinical settings.
Systematically measuring and reporting the progress being made in reducing racial and ethnic health disparities through SHD funded programs. Accountability is showing how lives are being changed for the better, not just the number of people reached.
Providing funding incentives to encourage health, human service, housing, environmental, and education nonprofits to collectively align their efforts to deliver comprehensive and holistic community health solutions.
Championing efforts to develop models similar to the Healthy Schools Initiative to address other areas of specialized need, such as supporting older residents to take control of their new longevity, maintain independence and sense of agency, and be able to safely age in place.
Collaborating with community and corporate charitable foundations to increase philanthropic investment in advancing health equity.
Developing joint accountability agreements with healthcare and labor organizations, health and human service nonprofits, and educational institutions to proactively develop, sustain, and retain a culturally and linguistically competent local healthcare workforce pipeline.
Building community-based ambassador coalitions to increase awareness of health resources, assist with the navigation of health systems, and serve as an ongoing interface of friendly and trusted support, and using this as an entry point for community members who want to pursue healthcare careers.
Expanding the workforce pipeline scope to include emergency medical response and firefighting personnel, also vital components of community and environmental health and safety.
