Partnerships to Improve Community Health
In August 2016, Healthy Peninsula was invited to join the Eastern Maine Healthcare System's "Partnerships to Improve Community Health," a program of the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The PICH initative supports local partnerships and activities that build capacity and implement community-level strategies to address the greatest predictors of chronic disease. In this case, food insecurity is the chosen concern.
Since there is a focus on food security issues within aging populations, Healthy Peninsula and its Thriving in Place healthy aging initiative fit in well with the goals of the PICH grant. We started implementing a PICH short-term plan for the months of August and September 2016, and in September, we will be applying for acceptance into the third and final year of EMHS's PICH grant.
Healthy Peninsula's priorities will be threefold:
Administering an evidence-based, two-question food security screening to senior populations in community setting and then providing pertinent resource materials and making appropriate referrals as needed.
Improving communication and collaboration among local food security and distribution agencies, as well as determining the feasibility of expanding our existing Magic Food Bus program to include home delivery to shut-in elders or those in need.
Researching and developing a comprehensive community resource center that is tailored to individuals who test positive on the two-question food security screen; has the potential to expand to assessing and assisting more fully a range of social determinants of health.
Click here to view a PDF file of this PowerPoint slide show.
