Welcome to PHNCI’s e-newsletter! Each month, we will send a brief e-newsletter with updates, links to relevant tools and resources, and ways to engage with us. The e-newsletter will be the best way to stay up-to-date on the work of our Center, and of public health innovations taking place across the nation.
In this month’s edition: we preview initial information on our innovation grant program; we provide a resource from one of our 21st Century states; and we share cross-jurisdictional sharing resources from the Center for Sharing Public Health Services.
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PHNCI’s Innovation Grant Program
A variety of common challenges pose barriers to innovation in public health, not the least of which have been repeated budget cuts, have outmoded technology, policies that restrict their ability to use social media and other modern communication methods, and more. Moreover, many departments have tremendous amounts of data but they are buried in siloes created by traditional government funding requirements for compliance in separate processes and databases. Despite these challenges, there are bright spots in innovation in public health, with emerging innovations that are then picked up, adapted, and adopted by other departments. Over the course of the next 17 months, PHNCI, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will support these bright spots in governmental public health through the Innovation Grant Program.
After a competitive Call for Proposals process, PHNCI is awarding $1.55 million to agencies implementing cross-sector innovations in health equity, data collection and analytics, health in all policies, systems redesign, and access to services. Over the course of the summer, we will begin sharing information about the grantees and invite you to follow their journey over the next 17 months to learn about how their initiatives might be applicable to adapt, adopt, or replicate in your community.
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21st Century Resource from Ohio
One of PHNCI’s first initiatives includes support of “21st Century Grantees,” three states working to modernize their public health systems with health departments capable of, and funded to, provide the foundational public health services (FPHS) in an equitable manner. With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Ohio (one of the states participating in this initiative) has laid the groundwork to implement system-wide transformations by: implementing a strategic emphasis on defining the FPHS for their systems; engaging in multi-stakeholder coalitions; aligning with health care to improve population health; and communicating the value of FPHS.
- State and local plan alignment – state issued guidance encouraging local health departments and tax-exempt hospitals to align priorities, metrics, and strategies.
- Hospital and local health department alignment – state issued guidance encouraging local health departments and tax-exempt hospitals to partner on assessments and plans. Additionally, the state requires alignment to a three-year timeline for assessments and plans.
- Funding – state issued guidance encouraging tax-exempt hospitals to allocate a minimum portion of their total community benefit expenditures to activities that most directly support community health planning objectives, including community health improvement services and cash and in-kind contributions.
- Transparency and accessibility – state requires local health departments and tax-exempt hospitals to submit all plans and assessments to the state. Additionally, tax-exempt hospitals are required to submit their Schedule H and corresponding attachments on an annual basis. All plans, assessments, and schedules will be made available online by the state.
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Resources on Cross-Jurisdictional Sharing
The Center for Sharing Public Health Services (CSPHS) is a national resource on cross-jurisdictional sharing (CJS), which is the deliberate exercise of public authority to enable collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries to deliver essential public health services. CSPHS provides resources—including those listed below, several of which have recently been revised—to assist public health officials and policymakers as they consider and adopt CJS approaches. For more information, visit the CSPHS website or contact CSPHS at phsharing@khi.org or 1-855-476-3671.
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Submit Your Innovation
Does your health department have a public health innovation worth sharing? We’d love to hear about it! Please visit our
submission page
to provide us with some brief details about your innovation, which may be featured on our website and/or e-newsletter.
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Public Health National Center for Innovations
1600 Duke Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
P: 703-778-4549 |
F: 703-778-4556
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