What We Can Do Locally — Ideas From the SSU Initiative Conferences
Version September 29, 2005

Note: Gathered and developed by Skip Robinson Ph.D., given serious editing and sequencing attention by Adele Amodeo MPH, edited, added to, and critiqued by Georgia Berland M.A., Tom Moore, and Carolyn Epple Ph.D.

I. COORDINATE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PREVENTION AND COALITION-BUILDING

A    Integrate and broaden public health efforts in coordination among health plans and private provider institutions, including nonprofit hospitals with community benefit obligations — such efforts to include primary and secondary prevention, health education, health

"Coordinate [more] among health care and social service and housing providers to integrate health and social services and case management, and to identify and fill gaps in health care access for the uninsured. This would include Sonoma County projects such as Frequent Users of Health Services Initiative (FUHSI), Health Care for the Homeless clinic development, and possibly the Social Security Benefits Assistance Project (if it is funded) among others." Georgia Berland

B    Plan and operate a collaborative — multi-institution "full court press" with prevention/early intervention/health education/health promotion on [at least] three highest cost primary chronic conditions (including in their case management and cost management), such as coronary, respiratory problems, and diabetes by community public health departments and agencies, employers, health plans, community health groups, media, schools, churches/synagogues/ mosques/meditation halls working together to foster shared priorities.

C    Significantly expand community/stakeholder/academic dialogue to increase coalition-building. [Consider funding year-long or multi-year educational and developmental programs.]

D    Do collaborative community-wide studies: What components of a community tend to make the community especially healthy/unhealthy? Practically, what can the community and its systems do to promote and improve community health?

"Such a study and a related community action project (identifying many such components and selecting water issues as [one] first action priority is underway by the Center for Social Change of the Sisters of St. Joseph; and considerable prior work on identifying such components was done by Memorial Hospital's Community Benefit Division, building on the Healthy Communities movement nationwide." Georgia Berland

E    (Question: How is public health and health care changed in an age of Jihad, 5 point hurricanes, 8 point earthquakes, and self-destructive governments?)

F    Foster community-wide study among campus, community, media, and public schools about food grown and food served.

"The issue of food grown and served in schools is being addressed through various programs of UC Cooperative Extension at the County, as well as in the Master Gardeners' program. Also, the Quantum Agriculture Project circulates information on more holistic approaches to agriculture. Certainly discussions of the effects of budget cuts are and should be taking place everywhere, and coordinating responses and advocacy is always a good idea. The new North Bay Spokescouncil is a group [beginning to try] to coordinate such efforts across disciplines." Georgia Berland

G    Include study of effects on health and mental accuity of the severe cuts in school PE, cuts in community facilities, cuts in county public health department programs, cuts in community health group funding, cuts in other critical community resources.

H    Develop budget models to show possible designs and costs.

I    Support Sonoma County's exciting "model" children's health project coalition.