Two paths on the roadmap for partnership success

Quality health care is essential, of course, but there are many basic needs it doesn’t address. Without access to adequate food, housing, transportation, and psychological support, which play such a key role in individual and community health and wellness, patients will not be as healthy as those in affluent zip codes. However, these needs — the “social determinants of health” — fall outside the scope of many safety net health centers.

CCI is committed to creating a more human-centered and equitable system of health care. Like some other organizations, we wanted to explore whether forging partnerships between medical and other community-based organizations would result in a more comprehensive approach to health and community wellness. This work, launched in the summer of 2019 as a pilot program, was designed to explore the potential of partnerships to more effectively integrate services and address social determinants of health.