What do an inner city educational organization, the local housing authority, a senior services agency, a faith-based organization, and a community health provider all have in common? They all want to improve their community's health, and they are pooling their time and resources to make it happen.
This practical guide gives healthcare leaders the tools they need to reach beyond the walls of their own organizations to create healthier communities:
Ideas about what type of partnership to initiate
Methods for monitoring project implementation
Tips on assessing outcomes
Examples of a wide variety of collaboration efforts
Lists of funding and partnership resources
While this book inspires healthcare leaders with examples of successful partnerships, the authors also devote a lot of attention to the potential pitfalls of community collaboration. Everything from differing opinions of what the collaboration should accomplish to staff animosity can derail the best intentions and well-funded efforts. These examples of challenging partnerships serve as a roadmap for future collaboration efforts. They are one of the book's most useful resources.
Howard P. Greenwald is Professor of Management and Policy at the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and Clinical Professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health. He is a specialist in research on major social issues, with an emphasis on health and communities. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California at Berkeley. He has served as a faculty member at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, research scientist at Battelle Memorial Institute, Chairman of the Network for Healthcare Management, and Director of the Health Services Administration Program at the University of Southern California. He is married to psychoanalyst Romalee Davis. Howard's interests include mountaineering, distance running, writing fiction, and playing with his twins, Phoebe and Jared.
William L. Beery is Vice President/Programs of the Group Health Community Foundation and Professor (Affiliate), School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington. His career has focused on the planning, implementation and evaluation of community-based programs to improve health. He has worked in government, academic, and managed care settings, and directed major evaluation efforts for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the California Wellness Foundation, the California Endowment, the Centers for Disease Control, and other local, state and federal agencies. Earlier, he served in West Africa and Southeast Asia as a Peace Corps Volunteer and Health Program Director. He is active in the community and has a special interest in reducing violence and aiding the homeless. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Madeline, and their two daughters, Erin and Moira. Bill derives enjoyment from (and has unlimited room for improvement in) golf and sea kayaking.
