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Category: Healthy Communities Initiatives

DC Vaccine Alliance

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DC Vaccine Alliance

The DC Vaccine Alliance is funded by the District of Columbia Department of Health (DC Health) to build and sustain a coalition of immunization stakeholders dedicated to promoting vaccination in Washington, DC. 

The Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI) was awarded a $100,000 grant by DC Health to establish the DC Vaccine Alliance. The grant will fund a coalition to support efforts to increase immunization rates and reduce vaccine-preventable diseases in Washington, DC. This initiative will focus on bringing together stakeholders from different sectors to educate both healthcare providers and the community. The work will highlight vaccine best practices and advocate for evidence-based immunization policies. 

Key priorities of the DC Vaccine Alliance include: 

  • Understanding attitudes and perceptions around immunizations and awareness of  school vaccination requirements 
  • Strengthening partnerships among immunization advocates to align messaging and outreach efforts 
  • Addressing barriers to vaccination and supporting providers in achieving recommended immunization coverage 
  • Enhancing access to accurate and up-to-date vaccine information through digital resources and community engagement 

 The Alliance will serve as a central hub for immunization initiatives, working in collaboration with healthcare providers, community-based organizations, government agencies, schools, and other key stakeholders to improve vaccine uptake for all in DC. 

IPHI serves as the backbone support for DC Vaccine Alliance.

To learn more about the DC Vaccine Alliance and how you can contribute to this important initiative, please contact us at [email protected]. 

Nourishing Success through School Meals Report

Nourishing Success through School Meals Report

The Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI) and partners created this report to improve student health and academic outcomes by identifying and addressing barriers to school meal access in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

The Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI) and the Prince George’s County Food Equity Council (FEC) are currently engaging with students, parents, and school leadership to learn about the perceptions and barriers influencing participation in school nutrition. The team would like to partner with the Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) Food and Nutrition Services to develop and implement strategies to increase school meal participation across the county. The FEC will also leverage other key food and community health partners to expand and execute the identified strategies. The intended impact includes improvements to both student health and academic outcomes, promotion of school wellness, and environmental sustainability. This initiative is funded by Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.

To download the report, click: here

To view the executive summary of the report and recommendations, click: here

 

Health Equity Research Hub (University of Maryland School of Pharmacy)

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Health Equity Research Hub (University of Maryland School of Pharmacy)

IPHI is proud to support the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s PATIENTS Program as it establishes a Health Equity Research Hub. With a $9.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund, this hub is dedicated to advancing health equity through community-led research initiatives.

As a key partner, IPHI brings its expertise in community engagement and capacity building to this groundbreaking initiative aimed at addressing social determinants of health nationwide.

As part of the PATIENTS Program Health Equity Research Hubs, IPHI is co-leading the Research Capacity Building and Training Unit alongside University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Pharmacy and other community experts. This unit focuses on empowering communities with the tools and training needed to lead impactful health equity research. By fostering collaboration between academic institutions and community organizations, this Hub will ensure that the voices of under-resourced populations are not only heard but are central to shaping research interventions that promote structural change.

Supporting Community-Led Interventions Nationwide

IPHI’s involvement in this initiative reflects our commitment to bridging the gap between public health innovation and community needs. By providing technical assistance, capacity-building resources, evidence-based training, and supporting the development of rigorous, community-led health equity interventions, we aim to help local leaders across the country drive meaningful improvements in health outcomes.

This Health Equity Research Hub is more than just a research initiative—it is a catalyst for transforming how health equity interventions are developed and implemented. Through collaboration with community partners and institutions like UMB, IPHI is helping create a future where all communities have the opportunity to achieve health equity. IPHI’s partnership with the PATIENTS Program at UMB exemplifies our longstanding mission to advance public health solutions that empower communities and address social determinants of health. Together, we are working to change the landscape of health equity research, ensuring that communities across the country lead the way in creating a healthier, more equitable future for all.

For more information, visit: https://news.pharmacy.umaryland.edu/patients-program-receives-9-4-million-grant-to-start-a-health-equity-research-hub-at-umb/

To learn more about the Health Equity Research Hubs, please contact the senior health program specialist at The PATIENTS Program, Tralisa Colby, MPH at [email protected].

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VOA Older Adult Housing Technology Research Project

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VOA Older Adult Housing Technology Research Project

Volunteers of America (VOA) partnered with IPHI to identify and assess the feasibility of integrating technology and health solutions in Southwest DC.  

IPHI is excited to partner with Volunteers of America (VOA) to improve the quality of life for low-income older adults in Southwest DC.  

In 2028, VOA will open Buzzard Point, one of its most visible and innovative older adult housing developments. The 110-unit affordable housing will help address inequities and injustices for economically disadvantaged communities. The housing and services at Buzzard Point will support the health and well-being of its residents, enabling them to age safely in their homes and communities. This site will integrate technology, health, and housing to benefit a diverse population.  

IPHI will identify and assess the possibility of adding technology and health solutions to create more supportive, engaging, and healthy living. This project will conduct research to understand the community’s needs, preferences, and challenges to develop targeted interventions that promote well-being, independence, and social connection. 

Our evaluation and research process involves a comprehensive approach, including: 

  • Community Engagement: Building strong partnerships with local organizations, advocates, and healthcare providers to ensure our work aligns with community needs and priorities. 
  • Data Collection: Gathering rich and diverse data through Photovoice, focus groups with various groups (e.g. advocates, local organizations, caregivers, healthcare providers, etc.), and interviews with technology experts. 

The team will leverage the project’s findings to advocate for policy, systems, and environmental changes that support healthy aging and digital equity. The team will conduct this research through September 2025.  

This project is funded by the Humana Foundation and supported by a network of dedicated research and community partners, all working together to make a lasting impact on the lives of older adults. 

For more information, view this fact sheet.

To learn more about the VOA Older Adult Housing Technology Research Project and how you can participate in this community initiative, please contact Senior Program Manager Christine Stewart at 202-350-3960 or email [email protected].  

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Rural Health Network Development Planning

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Rural Health Network Development Planning

IPHI received the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Network Development Planning grant to improve perinatal health in Virginia. IPHI will partner with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and the Cumberland Plateau Health District to improve health outcomes in the District.  

The Rural Health Network Development Planning grant was awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to work with local and state partners to improve perinatal health outcomes. This project will take place in the Cumberland Plateau Health District and will support IPHI in working with the Virginia Department of Health, Cumberland Plateau Health District, Ballad Health System, Carillion Tazewell Community Hospital, and the Cumberland Mountain Community Service Board. 

HRSA awarded a $100,000 grant to develop a rural health network through June 2025. The Network will focus on improving perinatal health outcomes within the four-county district of the Cumberland Plateau in Virginia including:  

  • Buchanan, 
  • Dickenson, 
  • Russell, and  
  • Tazewell counties.  

The Network will draw on the community’s strengths and assets to address challenges to perinatal health care by completing a regional perinatal health gap analysis, developing a perinatal health care coordination blueprint to enhance organizational/regional capacity, and identifying resources. 

To learn more about the Rural Health Network Development Planning and how you can contribute to this important initiative, please contact Senior Program Manager Rebecca Epstein at [email protected].  

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Rural Multiple Sclerosis Solutions

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Rural Multiple Sclerosis Solutions

Improving access to diagnostic and support resources for rural populations impacted by multiple sclerosis in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In 2022, IPHI expanded its focus to include support for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and medical providers in rural areas. This 3-year project is funded by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation.

Through the project, IPHI and various community partners will:

  1. Create a tool to simplify navigation for people seeking MS resources.
  2. Provide education and training to service providers.
  3. Improve access, delivery, and use of MS care for people living with MS in rural areas.
  4. Increase public awareness about MS, including its risk factors, early signs and symptoms, and treatment options.

Many rural residents impacted by complex, chronic health conditions like MS often do not get the help or social services needed. Rural residents are burdened because services and resources do not exist in the area or are inaccessible due to barriers like transportation, cost, awareness, technology, mistrust, etc. As a result, people living in rural areas can go undiagnosed longer, face misdiagnoses, experience more treatment disruptions, and receive less support to address social determinants of health.

Scope of work:

The IPHI team is focusing on identifying and improving access in rural communities. Through the grant, non-specialty health providers will receive education and training on MS risk factors, early signs and symptoms, treatments, and resources. Rural residents will be engaged through convenings, focus groups, interviews, and community events to increase awareness of MS and connect affected residents to resources. Other activities include collaborating with mobile health units and similar community-based services to reach people where they are.

In partnership with VirginiaNavigator, IPHI will create a network map of health and social support resources in the project’s target area. The team will also establish Navigation Centers where community leaders will be trained on how to use the network map and provide navigation assistance. All activities will be informed by people living with MS, care partners, and community professionals.

The project will focus on these rural communities (collaborations and resources may be state-wide):

  • Maryland
    • Caroline County
    • Garrett County
  • Virginia
    • Brunswick County
    • Buckingham County
    • Charlotte County
    • Cumberland County
    • Danville
    • Henry County
    • Louisa County
    • Lunenburg County
    • Martinsville
    • Nottoway County
    • Orange County
    • Patrick County
    • Pittsylvania County
    • Prince Edward County
  • North Carolina
    • Caswell County
    • Duplin County
    • Greene County
    • Jones County
    • Lenoir County
    • Montgomery County
    • Surry County
    • Wilkes County
  • West Virginia
    • Fayette County
    • Marion County
    • McDowell County
    • Mercer County
    • Monroe County
    • Preston County
    • Raleigh County
    • Summers County
    • Wetzel County
    • Wyoming County

Upcoming Training:

First (1st) Wednesday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. EST – Launching January 3, 2024

The West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI), Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Neurodegenerative Diseases Program focus on diagnosing, managing, and treating MS and other neurological diseases in the primary care setting. This training is offered free of charge to all participants. For more information, visit: here.

Topics Covered

  • Early Symptoms & Diagnosing MS
  • Monitoring MS
  • MS Therapies
  • Patient-Centered Care
  • Neurological Diseases
REGISTER

Resources:

Provide input to design an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) practice model, which aims to increase knowledge and confidence in treating patients with MS and neurodegenerative diseases.

Explore a prototype of the network map that identifies organizations located in or serving residents of Virginia living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, ALS, Huntington’s disease (HD), MS, and Parkinson’s disease.

Learn more about issues affecting rural areas and how to identify counties for intervention.

Help recruit new collaborators by identifying key service providers and sharing these materials.

Understand the perspectives and priorities of people impacted by MS in rural areas by hearing key insights from a convening hosted in rural Virginia.

Acknowledgments:

Special thanks to our funders and partners:

  • Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation
  • Can Do MS
  • MS Alliance
  • VirginiaNavigator
  • West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute

To learn more about Rural MS Solutions Project, please contact Senior Program Manager Lauren Ruiz at [email protected] or 202.987.2540.

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Food Security Report

Title "Prince George's County Food Security Task Force Recommendations 2021" over a background image of crops growing from the ground.

Food Security Report

IPHI, Prince George’s County Food Security Task Force, and Prince George’s County Food Equity Council (FEC) completed a report to address the county’s food-security challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report recommends 11 solutions (four foundational and seven general strategies) for the Prince George’s County Council, Office of the County Executive, and County agencies to adopt.

To download the report, click: here.

To view the executive summary of the report and recommendations, click: here.

 

Foundational Recommendations

  1. Create and fund a Prince George’s County Food Security Office.
  2. Gather, analyze, and use data to inform and drive County agency food security decisions.
  3. Increase resident participation in federal nutrition assistance programs.
  4. Develop a master communication strategy for food security, resilience, and emergency preparedness.

Food Security Policies and Programs Recommendations

  1. Plan for future food security disruptions by developing an emergency food security plan that integrates food system experts into existing emergency management operations.
  2. Increase access to bulk food purchasing, infrastructure, and resources for food assistance providers.
  3. Co-locate food security and social safety net services to create closed-loop referral systems.
  4. Improve transportation options for residents to access healthy food retailers and providers.
  5. Leverage state and regional partners for cross-jurisdictional food systems planning, coordinated communication, and infrastructure development.
  6. Provide land access, infrastructure, and resources to help agriculture flourish.
  7. Continue to provide and expand market incentives to support healthy food retailers of multiple sizes in target communities.

Cameron Foundation Community Health Needs Assessment

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Community Health Needs Assessment

The Cameron Foundation in Petersburg, VA, partnered with IPHI to update its community health needs assessment (CHNA). The most recent assessment was developed in spring 2023.

The assessment provides a comprehensive review of demographic, socioeconomic, physical environmental, and health indicators, and includes jurisdiction-level forces of change analyses and a summary of existing services and resources in the foundation’s service areas. IPHI led the collection, analysis, and reporting of health indicators, which include clinical and behavioral risk factors, County Health Rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, health outcomes, and life expectancy maps.

IPHI worked with the foundation to frame the report using a health equity lens to link demographics, environmental and socioeconomic factors (e.g., social determinants of health-SDOH) to overall health outcomes and inequities between populations, neighborhoods, and jurisdictions. Among other data in the report, IPHI integrated the Vulnerable Populations Footprint from the Community Commons and census tract life expectancy maps to visually demonstrate the link between adverse SDOH and short life span at the neighborhood level.  IPHI added evidence-based recommendations to guide communities in using the assessment.

To learn more about the Cameron Foundation’s community health needs assessment, please contact [email protected] or visit: www.camfound.org/.

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COVID-19 Response & Recovery

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COVID-19 Response & Recovery

In May 2020, Fairfax County Health Department in Virginia turned to IPHI to assist with swiftly building up its workforce capacity to respond to the pandemic (see the Health Department’s initial press release).

Within less than a month, IPHI recruited, employed, and trained 80 new staff on behalf of Fairfax County. By the end of January 2021, IPHI had hired over 640 employees.  This new surge workforce included case interviewers, contact interviewers, community health workers, epidemiologists, environmental health specialists, call center staff, wellness specialists, and over 50 response team managers.  As the pandemic response shifted to include an emphasis on COVID-19 vaccine access, team members were trained and shifted to support vaccine outreach, education, and provision.

IPHI developed a week-long training program for case and contact interviewers that wrapped around an online, self-guided course offered by Johns Hopkins University.  IPHI also created a separate training program for COVID-19 community health workers.  IPHI’s curricula ensured new hires had the opportunity to practice what they were learning through interactive, adult learning methods.  The IPHI courses were so well-received the health department asked IPHI to include over 250 government employees in the program as well, beyond the IPHI-employed staff. Over the course of its involvement, IPHI has trained well over 1,400 pandemic responders.  In March 2021, the National Network of Public Health Institutes published an article on IPHI’s training program.

In the late summer of 2021, it became clear that a second boost in workforce capacity was required to respond to a new surge in COVID-19 cases in Fairfax County and across the Commonwealth of Virginia due to the Delta variant and, later, Omicron.  IPHI hired and trained hundreds of additional workers in the fall of 2021 who were deployed to not just Fairfax County Health Department but 22 additional Local Health Districts across Virginia.

IPHI has learned a number of key lessons from this work thus far, including:

  • Public/private partnerships can provide efficiency and agility to governmental efforts to expand capacity and effectively respond to public health emergencies.
  • While there is pressure to ramp up quickly, governments and their partners should invest in sufficient upfront training to improve performance and staff satisfaction.
  • Community health workers have a vital role to play in emergency response.

“IPHI is an essential partner in the Health Department’s efforts to contain COVID-19 in Fairfax County.  Recruiting, employing and training hundreds of staff in just a few short months was no small feat. Due to the critical support and capacity IPHI provided, we were able to focus on our role leading the Emergency Response.”
— Gloria Addo-Ayensu, MD, MPH, Director of Health for Fairfax County

To learn more about IPHI’s COVID-19 response and recovery, please contact Senior Director Carolyn Padovano at [email protected].

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Stronger Partnership, Stronger Community

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STRONGER PARTNERSHIP, STRONGER COMMUNITY

IPHI is one of the project partners for “Stronger Partnership, Stronger Community: Using Health Literacy to Increase Resilience (Stronger2),” Fairfax County Virginia Health Department-led initiative to improve health literacy among local African-American, Black, and Hispanic communities.

Stronger2 uses a community-based model to bring together trusted community voices to foster culturally competent health literacy. The program will improve health outcomes by cultivating an individual’s ability to find, understand, and use health information and serve the community in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner.

In recruiting 90+ leaders from non-profits, the faith-based community, and historically Black fraternities and sororities to build the program, the interrelated objectives include:

  • Increase the number of COVID-19 vaccinated days [the number of people vaccinated multiplied by the number of days vaccinated by zip code] for Black and Latinx members by 20% over what would have been expected otherwise
  • Improve COVID-19 health literacy by 40%
  • Improve patient/provider communications by 30%
  • Increase community resilience by 20%
  • Increase social support by 20%

IPHI will train and certify project implementation partners on a standardized health literacy curriculum model/approach. The sessions will cover core elements of competency-based health literacy and topics relating to racial equity, cultural responsiveness, and trauma-informed care. Stronger2 training will occur over several weeks and involves extensive study in health literacy, trauma-informed care, and program evaluation. Following training, the group will build and implement health literacy programs and share the positive impact these make in the community. Some of the key health topics that will be addressed include COVID-19 vaccination, illness prevention, and health care decision-making. Program participants will implement, share, and evaluate the results of their health literacy training and certification.

To learn more about Stronger Partnership, Stronger Community, please contact Senior Program Manager Joanna Davis at [email protected] or 202.987.2829.

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