21st Century Vision of Public Health

The Boston Public Health Commission, the Boston Housing Authority, and Boston Medical Center are working together to identify and address some of the health challenges faced by residents of Boston’s public housing.

The Clark County Public Health Department serves as a convener, an advocate and a data expert to strengthen partnerships in Vancouver, Wash., including with the Vancouver Public School District.

Mississippi Roadmap to Health Equity relies on local residents to identify community health priorities and forges partnerships with the health department, educators, and other sectors to reduce health disparities in the state.

The Main Street Initiative in North Dakota brings together state and local representatives across sectors, including health departments, to grow communities primed for economic growth.

The Alameda County Public Health Department in California recognizes the links between health and safe and affordable housing, and offers data and policy expertise to inform community advocates and public officials.

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, launched Healthy Chicago 2.0, a collaborative action plan that built on input from hundreds of stakeholders, to improve the health of all city residents

“The National Prevention Strategy aims to guide our nation in the most effective and achievable means for improving health and well-being. The Strategy prioritizes prevention by integrating recommendations and actions across multiple settings to improve health and save lives.”

Brian Castrucci, CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, and John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, discuss how “hospitals and health care systems have started to address [the] social determinants of health through initiatives that buy food, offer temporary housing, or cover transportation costs for high-risk patients. If this is what addressing the social determinants of health has come to mean, not only has the definition changed, but it has changed in ways that may impede efforts to address those conditions that impact the overall health of our country.”

“From our unique position as a national convener at the intersection of community development and health, the Build Healthy Places Network developed these Principles to articulate shared values across sectors and lift up best practices. [Use] these principles [to] frame and guide efforts across sectors working toward achieving an equitable future where fair opportunity is an outcome for all.”