Building Thriving Communities by Rebecca Arno
Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) April 30, 2014 -- It’s a sunny late-winter morning, and an intrepid rider heads off on one of the bright red B-Cycles that have become ubiquitous on Denver’s streets. She rides past a schoolyard, where children scramble up a brightly painted playground structure and race down the slides. In the middle school down the street, students play a fierce game of kickball with their PlayWorks recess coach. And across town in an elementary-school kitchen, cooks are slicing fresh red peppers grown at the Denver Botanic Gardens Farm near Chatfield Reservoir.
These are the signs of a vibrant, healthy community, and that is exactly what Kaiser Permanente is fostering in Colorado. Kaiser Permanente, you wonder? Colorado’s largest nonprofit health plan? Sure, they treat thousands of patients in their clinics and medical offices in 20 Colorado counties. But bicycles and playgrounds and healthy food? How is that the work of a health care provider? Kaiser Permanente answers that question with an enthusiastic dedication to the health of the communities where their patients live, work, and play. Their mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of their members and the communities they serve. Their goal is to “help Colorado thrive.” In service to this goal, they recognize that good health extends far beyond the doctor’s office and the hospital.
“We know that for our patients and their families to be healthy, they need access to nutritious food, great schools, and safe parks and playgrounds,” says Corina Lindley, senior manager of Community Health (a division of Kaiser Permanente). “We’re increasingly looking at why some communities have access to these things while others don’t. As we address issues of access and equity, we need to get to the root causes of some of the more serious health problems we see.”
Lindley and her colleagues at Kaiser Permanente know that they will be able to do the greatest good when they can use all of the resources within their sphere of influence. “We invest the time, expertise, and resources of more than six thousand Kaiser Permanente Colorado physicians and employees to help address our state’s most pressing health and social concerns,” Lindley explains. “It’s incredible what this network can accomplish.”
In addition to Colorado, Kaiser Permanente serves patients and communities in seven other states and the District of Columbia. They invest in community-benefit activities wherever they are located and share their lessons learned, successes, and challenges, to ensure that together, they’re continually building healthier communities across the nation.
Taking Action
Several years ago, Kaiser Permanente Colorado conducted a Community Health Needs Assessment, which is now required of all nonprofit hospitals under the Affordable Care Act. They then decided to increase their community-benefit investments to address the root causes of health disparities and the social determinants of ill health. Their program is designed to work in four areas: Health Access, Healthy Environments, Health Knowledge, and Community Service.
In Health Access, they focus on care and coverage for low-income people, addressing health disparities related to income and race/ethnicity, and supporting partner organizations working to provide a safety net for those in need.
“We asked ourselves what we could do to help people living in low-income communities gain access to what people in other communities take for granted,” says Lindley. “What are the community assets that promote health?”
Thus, the Healthy Eating/Active Living program was born, seeking to build communities that are easy to walk, where people have access to food, better jobs, and adequate transportation. Kaiser Permanente is investing in 20 different projects across the state that will help local and state governments learn how to allocate resources more equitably in order to build intentionally healthy communities. Kaiser Permanente also works hard to promote food access and reduce hunger. As the doctors in the network started screening for hunger concerns among their patients, they were surprised to learn that even patients with the resources to belong to a health care plan can experience food insecurity. One of the ways they help meet this need is through support of Hunger Free Colorado’s Hunger Free Hotline, which helps thousands of people every year.
When it is necessary and will make a difference to the community, Kaiser Permanente uses their voice to help promote public policy. To this end, they worked with Hunger Free Colorado and Representative Dominic Moreno (Commerce City) to pass “Breakfast after the Bell” legislation, which provides a free breakfast in the classroom to every child in low-income schools throughout the state. This nutritious start to the day is proven to help children maintain focus and attention during the school day, improving both health and educational outcomes.
A Good Listener
We all know that good doctors are great listeners. One of Kaiser Permanente’s practices is to work hard to meet communities where they are, and to spend time in schools and with local groups listening directly to the people who are accessing services. This work of “embedded listening” can be challenging, but it helps in figuring out how to address complicated issues like the link between physical activity and academic outcomes.
Kaiser Permanente’s listening practices have resulted in a number of exciting programs, including Thriving Schools. Recently, they awarded $1.4 million in grants to 21 school districts across their service area. In Weld County, they will provide afterschool programs for middle-school students. In Boulder County, they will seek to shift how bus transportation is provided while encouraging students to get more exercise. Beyond these grants, Kaiser Permanente partnered with its employees to award 38 mini-grants to increase physical activity in schools throughout Colorado serving more than 20,000 students.
No End to the Good
Beyond the programs described here, Kaiser Permanente helps with numerous other strategies for promoting health, including nutrition promotion, obesity prevention, medical research, and the development of the health care workforce.
“Kaiser Permanente’s reach and impact are truly impressive,” says David Miller, President and CEO of The Denver Foundation. “When they began to work in partnership with The Denver Foundation, we found so many ways that our work in the community aligned.” Kaiser Permanente uses a business-advised fund at The Denver Foundation to manage a portion of its grantmaking. Their staff works directly with the Foundation’s Basic Human Needs program area to share information on potential grantees. “We are so fortunate that this outstanding health care provider also happens to be a visionary community investor. You don’t have to be a Kaiser Permanente member to appreciate all they do.”
Looking to the Future
As the leaders at Kaiser Permanente look to the future, they see endless opportunities for helping improve health for all. Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, Vice President of Government and External Relations and also a member of The Denver Foundation’s Board of Trustees, takes the long view. “The Affordable Care Act opens the door for people of all ages and all backgrounds to access health care in different ways,” she notes. “What does this mean for community health? How will this affect the persistent disparities in health care for those most in need? The landscape may change dramatically in the months and years to come.”
No matter what lies ahead, Kaiser Permanente will be there to help our community build toward greater health – and THRIVE.
Angelle Fouther, The Denver Foundation, http://www.denverfoundation.org, +1 (303) 996-6490, [email protected]
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