The Health Research & Education Trust of the American Hospital Association has published this guide for creating effective partnerships between hospitals and health systems and their local communities. The guide was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is promoting the concept of a “culture of health”, creating a society that gives all individuals an equal opportunity to live the healthiest life they can, whatever their ethnic, geographic, racial, socioeconomic or physical circumstances may be. The guide is based on 50 interviews with hospital, health system, and community leaders from 25 diverse communities to determine common themes and successful approaches for developing effective collaboration. The guide shares lessons learned in:
- identifying community health needs and reaching consensus on priorities;
- identifying potential partners;
- creating sustainable partnership structures
- overcoming obstacles; and
- assessing interventions and partnerships.
Ignatius Bau 