A Special Section from
2013Improving the health status of the community through collaborative means.
68 | sawoman.com
The health of our community is everyone’s responsibility. It affects how well our kids learnin school, how productive we are at work, and the ability of our families to contribute tothe growth and success of our community. It affects our city image, too.
We are pleased to introduce you to The Health Collaborative, a cutting-edge, public-privatemodel for solving community health issues. Our organization, through its members andstaff, represents a collaborative effort that is improving the health of our community.
Our collaboration is based on research. We conduct the Bexar County Community HealthAssessment every three years. It is the foundation of our efforts and a signature projectof The Health Collaborative. The 2010 assessment was released in February 2011 to morethan 200 business, civic and community leaders who embraced the data as essential inpreparing for the challenge of improving health through collaboration and peer supportwithin their organizations. The report was hailed as one of the most comprehensive inthe nation, and other communities are using it as a model.
Thanks to our funding partners, we have been able to provide the report to all of our com-munity stakeholders. This representative data strengthens community knowledge of thosebehaviors that lead to poor health outcomes—behaviors that we can address through pre-ventive care and education.
In this special section, you will learn how we have expanded our community partnershipsto further strengthen our commitment to our priority issues of health literacy, youth obe-sity prevention and youth mental health. The superior leadership of our well-establishedprofessional volunteer councils has made it possible for us to serve and support our BexarCounty families like never before.
Our goal as an organization is to continually improve how we assist, empower and improvethe wellness of the community. As we enter 2013, our impact is more evident than ever.The community is taking charge of its overall wellness and working towards a better andhealthier future.
The Health Collaborative is a powerful network of citizens, community organizations andbusinesses. We invite you to join us on our journey to a healthier community!
The Health Collaborative2012-13 Board of Directors
Stephen Blanchard, PhDOur Lady of the Lake University
Chair
Charlene Doria-OrtizBexar County Department of
Community ResourcesSecretary/Treasurer
Palmira ArellanoMethodist HealthcareImmediate Past Chair
Beth Davenport, RNBaptist Health System
Theresa De La Haya, RN, MPHUniversity Health System
Robert Ferrer, MDUniversity of Texas Health Science Center
at San Antonio
Greg GiesemanCommunity First Health Plans
Charles L. KightCommunity Member
Sandy MoranderYMCA of Greater San Antonio
Pilar OatesMethodist Healthcare Ministries
of South Texas
Tim Porter, MBAAppddiction Studio
Christine Rutherford-Stuart, MPHSan Antonio Metropolitan Health District
Richard WoodleyCHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System
Carol ZernialWellMed Medical Management, Inc.
Contact Information:
The Health Collaborative1002 N. Flores StreetSan Antonio, TX 78212
Phone (210) 481-2573Fax (210) 223-0680
www.healthcollaborative.net
Elizabeth De La FuentesExecutive Director
Stephen Blanchard, PhDBoard Chair
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A Special Section from SAN ANTONIO WOMAN
The Health Collaborative serves as aconvening organization bringing togetherthe area’s health care systems, communityorganizations, and businesses to implementa more synergistic approach to solving theregion’s critical community health needs,while efficiently utilizing resources.
Our MissionThe mission of the organization is to im-
prove the health status of the communitythrough collaborative means. Priority issuesof The Health Collaborative are preventionof youth obesity, health literacy, and youthmental health.
The Board of Directors of the HealthCollaborative is committed to:
• Defining and implementing a comprehen-sive community health assessmentprocess on a triennial basis
• Enhancing positive community healthoutcomes by leveraging appropriate re-sources
• Playing a leadership role in evaluating, de-veloping, funding and implementing healthinitiatives
• Decreasing duplication of health servicesin the community and promoting coordi-nated efforts for the best possible com-munity health outcomes
Bexar County CommunityHealth Assessment
A nonprofit organization, The HealthCollaborative began informally in 1997when the city’s major health care organiza-tions agreed to put aside their competitivebusiness practices to conduct a compre-hensive health needs assessment. It has
evolved to become the Bexar CountyCommunity Health Assessment, a signatureproject of The Health Collaborative. Acomprehensive report of local health, itguides the community’s efforts toward pre-vention and health improvement.
The 2010 assessment was embraced bycommunity leaders and hailed as one of themost comprehensive in the nation. Non-profit organizations throughout the cityhave found the assessment to be an insight-ful planning tool, using its data when writinggrants and evaluating and developing theirprograms. Area health care systems haveused data from previous assessments tomake critical program decisions. TheHealth Collaborative uses the assessmentto identify its priority issues.
Work is under way to produce the 2013assessment. To access the 2010 BexarCounty Community Health Assessment, visitwww.healthcollaborative.net.
Community Health Improvement Plan
Based on the success of the communityhealth assessment, Metro Health invitedTHC to serve as the host for the planningprocess for the first Community Health Im-provement Plan (CHIP) for Bexar County.The CHIP was released in 2012.
“The CHIP is a call to action to encour-age businesses, organizations and neighbor-hoods to become partners in implementingthe recommendations,” said Elizabeth De LaFuentes, THC executive director. “Achieve-ment of the goals will be monitored throughfuture community assessment activities, andthe plan will be revised in 2014.”
Improving the Health Status of the Community Through Collaborative Means
"The unique thing about it wasthat we weren’t talking aboutour services or our programs. Wewere talking about people inneed, and when the focus gotback to where the needs are,there was a lot of commonground. "The Health Collaborative is
one of the best things that everhappened to San Antonio. That’sbecause the people involved re-ally care about the health statusof the community and the healthstatus of future generations."
Theresa De La Haya, RN, MPHFounding Member, The Health Collaborative, Senior Vice President of Community Health and Clinical Prevention Programs, University Health System
“The Health Collaborativecompiles and publishes the as-sessment as a gift to the com-munity with the understandingthat the more the communityknows about its health status,the better able the communitywill be to take collaborative ac-tion to improve it.”
Stephen Blanchard, PhD 2012-13 THC Board Chair.
“The Health Collaborative wasborn out of the realization thatno matter how much money wepump into public or privatehealth care, the most cost effec-tive thing we can do is get morepeople to engage in healthylifestyles. The Health Collabora-tive has made great strides inmeasuring our overall health asa community and outlining thehealth risks we still need totackle so leaders across all spec-trums can make better decisionsto move us closer to being ahealthy county.”
The Honorable Nelson WolffBexar County Judge
““
PROJECT MEASURE UPDecreasing Youth Overweight andObesity Through Innovation, Leadership and Collaboration
Prevention of youth obesity is a priority forThe Health Collaborative. At the request of funders,
THC developed and manages Project Measure Up (PMU), asurveillance and service program aimed at decreasing theprevalence of youth overweight and obesity in Bexar Countythrough innovation, leadership and collaboration
PMU staff and volunteers work with Bexar County schooldistricts and Education Service Center Region 20 to meet theunfunded mandates established by Texas State Senate Bill 530.The mandate requires that thousands of Bexar County stu-dents in grades three through twelve undergo yearly Fitness-Gram tests. The assessment tests provide quantitative dataon the physical state of children’s health related to youth obe-sity. This collaboration involves:
The Project Measure Up Volunteer Corps. TheHealth Collaborative trains and maintains the PMU VolunteerCorps to conduct the assessments. Through agreements withthe school districts, PMU provides these trained volunteersfree of charge.
The Youth Obesity Prevention Partners Council.Organized and managed by The Health Collaborative, theCouncil is composed of program managers of community-based youth obesity prevention programs. The Council
provides seamless programming across participatingschool districts.
The District Health Index (DHI). Developed andmaintained by The Health Collaborative, the DHI, using Fit-nessGram data, illustrates over time the health status ofBexar County children with regards to physical fitness andthe prevalence of overweight and obesity. It allows our com-munity to identify where more resources are needed, as wellas what strategies/programs are working. To access the DHI,visit www.healthcollaborative.net.
YOUTH MINDS MATTERPilot Program Uses ScreeningTool and Referral Information toHelp Children at Risk for Behavioral Health Problems
Being overweight not only causes health problems forchildren, it also can lead to social and emotional problemsthat can have far-reaching effects. Overweight and obese chil-dren are often the target of bullying and also often experiencedepression, anxiety and difficulty with social interaction. Withgenerous funding from Methodist Healthcare Ministries ofSouth Texas, The Health Collaborative is developing YoungMinds Matter, an early identification and screening programto help children who are at risk for behavioral health prob-lems get the help they need.
“Mental health is a key focus area for us, and we are alwayslooking for partners who are doing innovative work,” said PilarOates, executive director of Methodist Healthcare Ministries. “Sev-enty-five percent of kids in the juvenile court system have a learn-ing disability or mental health issue. Young Minds Matter will allowus to intervene earlier and make a difference.”
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OUR PROGRAMS
Young Minds Matter is currently a pilot program withNortheast Pediatric Associates, P.A. at its three San Antonioarea clinics. Staff use a screening tool to record the emo-tional and physical health of their patients.
Based on the data, THC staff has identified the most preva-lent behavioral health issues and compiled information onhealth care professionals and programs dealing with them thatare convenient to Northeast Pediatric clinics. This informa-tion is being used to build an online parent resource portal,which is expected to be operational later this year. Whencomplete, the portal will be an important resource for bothparents and health care professionals. After evaluation of thepilot program, our goal is to expand YMM to other parts ofthe city.
SAN ANTONIO HEALTH LITERACYOne of the State’s Top ProgramsIncreases Awareness of Health Literacy as a Core Component ofCommunity Health
Health literacy is the ability to understand health in-formation and to use that information to make good deci-sions about your health and medical care. The U.S.Department of Health and Human Services estimates thatone-third of the adult population in the United States has lim-ited health literacy.
Through the efforts of a very active volunteer council, TheHealth Collaborative has one of the top health literacy pro-grams in the country. The San Antonio Health Literacy Initia-tive (SAHLI) works to increase awareness of health literacy
as a core component of community health in San Antonio andwas one of the first such initiatives in the country.
“With the success of our annual conference, addition of year-round health literacy programming and expanding collaborations,SAHLI is successfully making an impact in empowering consumersand providers to be more health literate,” said Jennifer Cook, PhD,RN, associate professor at the School of Nursing and Health Pro-fessions at the University of the Incarnate Word, and SAHLI chair.
Components of SAHLI include:Texas’ Premier Health Literacy Conference. Each year
SAHLI hosts the state’s premier health literacy conference,which provides the most up-to-date information, tools andtechniques to health care professionals, educators, socialworkers, health plan administrators, community serviceproviders, and the public about health literacy issues.
Ongoing Health Literacy Training. SAHLI volunteers pres-ent lunch-and-learn sessions on various aspects of health lit-eracy, including The ABCs of Health Literacy and a formstraining resources seminar. The seminars attract capacity au-diences. Through a generous grant from the Bexar CountyDepartment of Community Resources, THC will continue tooffer this training, including the county’s first oral health andHIV education symposium.
Let’s Collaborate! If you are interested in becoming in-volved with these programs or designating a donation to oneof them, please contact THC at www.healthcollaborative.netor (210) 481-2573.
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COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES
Charlene Doria-OrtizBexar County Department ofCommunity Resources
Mindy GarciaCommunity First Health Plans
Mary & Vicente GarciaEastside de la Buena SaludPromotoras
Denholm OldhamMAXIMUS
Francesca GarrettPatient Institute
Adam Ratner, MDPatient Institute
Kath AndersonSage Words
Shirley WillsShirley Wills & Associates
Jacque BurandtUniversity Health System
Rafael MaldonadoUniversity Health System
Jennifer Cook, PhD, RN, CNSUniversity of the Incarnate Word
Melanie StoneUTHSCSA - Center for Humanities & Ethics
Sandra San Miguel de MajorsUTHSCSA - Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Oralia Bazaldua, PharmDUTHSCSA - Department ofFamily and Community Medicine
San Antonio Health Literacy Initiative
Jeannine Von Stulz, PhDBexar County Juvenile Probation
Katie ElsethChild Protective Services
Kathy Cunningham, RNClarity Child Guidance Center
Elizabeth Escobar, LMSWCommunities in Schools of San Antonio
Mary & Vicente GarciaEastside de la Buena Salud Promotoras
Sheila Dismuke- WilliamsHealth and Human Services Commission
Beverly Young, RNTexas Medicaid Wellness Program
Lauren CohenNational Alliance on Mental Illness
Bonnie Scott, MSUTHSCSA
Youth Mental Health Council
Shirley WillsShirley Wills & Associates
Karen MayBaptist Health System
Kristina AderholdBaptist Health System
Ashley CardenasBaptist Health System
Laura JesseBexar County
Melissa KrauseCHRISTUS Santa Rosa HealthSystem
Cassandra BrunsCommunity First Health Plans
Catherine Zambrano-ChavezCommunity First Health Plans
Melina TrevinoCommunity First Health Plans
Carole HarrisMethodist Healthcare
JoAnn KingMethodist Healthcare
Palmira ArellanoMethodist Healthcare
Jessica Munoz SherfeyMethodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas
Dominica GarzaMethodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas
Anne GomezOur Lady of the Lake University
Carol SchliesingerSan Antonio MetropolitanHealth District
Julie WileyUniversity Health System
Leni KirkmanUniversity Health System
Dan CalderonWellMed Medical Management Inc.
Deborah MartinYMCA of Greater San Antonio
Public Relations Committee
University of Texas at San Antonio
Trinity APO
Texas A&M San Antonio
Our Lady of the Lake University
University of the Incarnate Word
Baptist School of Health Professions
Wayland Baptist School of Health
University of Texas Health Science Center
Volunteer Service Learning
Frank Alfaro, PhDAlamo Heights ISD
Jerry GonzalezEdgewood ISD
Tamara CassoEdgewood
Dolly ArmstrongHarlandale ISD
Liset Leal-VasquezHealthier Generation
Rita HernandezInspiration 4 Life
Candy TannerJudson ISD
Lydia MartinezNorthside ISD
Roger RodriguezSan Antonio ISD
Jorge TopeteSouthside ISD
Victoria GaetaSouthwest ISD
Kathy ShieldsSan Antonio Metropoli-tan Health District
Anna GonzalezSan Antonio Sports
Brenda BurtonSan Antonio Parks andRecreation
Youth Obesity Prevention Partners Council
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TAKING A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN HEALTHY VENDING
San Antonio is taking a leadership role nationally in the develop-ment of healthy vending guidelines as one of only a handful of citiesin the country addressing the issue. Leading this effort, The HealthCollaborative and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District in2012 unveiled a comprehensive plan to encourage healthy vendingin the workplace. A coalition of community and public health ex-perts, dietitians, and food distributors helped develop the guidelines.The plan recommended that 75 percent of the snacks in vendingmachines meet the San Antonio healthy vending criteria.
“Healthy vending is a way to build healthier snacking habits in theworksite, and these habits can extend to the home and throughoutthe community,” said Kathy Shields, Certified Health Education Spe-cialist, chronic disease prevention manager at Metro Health. Avail-able at www.sahealthyvending.com, the plan includes:• Guidelines for selecting healthy vending snack items based on
specific nutrition criteria.• Support for businesses and organizations when evaluating their
snack machines, setting healthy vending policy, dealing with ven-dor contracts, and promoting, monitoring and evaluating theirprogram.
• A new educational application for Apple and Android platformsaimed at kids and a web site to help drive consumer demand forhealthy vending items.
WORKING WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS TOMAKE FITNESS A FAMILY AFFAIR
Through its Family Fitness program, The Health Collaborative isworking with area school districts to help fitness become a family affair.
In January 2012, San Antonio Sports commissioned THC to de-velop a family fitness program that would be implemented in sevenschool districts throughout the summer. The program was so suc-cessful that the school districts decided to take the program to morefamilies by partnering with THC last fall.
THC works with San Antonio, Harlandale, Edgewood, Southwest,and Northside Independent School Districts to present family fitnessevents once a week, providing certified trainers and health informa-tion. For the Harlandale Independent School District, the partner-ship with THC has opened many doors. “Between 30 and 40 womenattend our classes,” said Dolly Armstrong, Coordinated Approachto Child Health (CATCH) facilitator for Harlandale ISD. “Our fitnessprogram has started to take off in the family direction because ofthe support of THC. We would not have been able to continuewithout their support.”
GROWING A HEALTHY COMMUNITY WITHA COMMUNITY GARDEN
The community garden is an excellent example of community col-laboration. Through the garden The Health Collaborative addressesobesity by improving neighborhood access to fresh vegetables and
fruits and engaging youth and families in community education ona variety of garden-related topics, including nutrition, physical fit-
ness and recycling. The community garden offers volunteer opportu-nities for groups ranging from the Girl Scouts to seniors, and THC hasdeveloped an ongoing relationship with the Roots and Shoots Ecolog-ical Club at Austin Academy that provides gardening and educationalopportunities of the students there. This multifaceted program seeksnot only to show people how to grow sustainable food, but also howto incorporate healthy living into their lifestyles.
PARTNERING WITH THE RYAN WHITEHIV/AIDS EDUCATION PROGRAM
The Health Collaborative partners with the Bexar County RyanWhite HIV/AIDS Education Program to provide training in casemanagement, oral health seminars for health care professionals anda first-time HIV routine testing summit, also for health care profes-sionals. In addition, the Ryan White Program commissioned THC todevelop and produce the first fotonovela project for Latinas in SanAntonio. The fotonovela is a small pamphlet in a format similar to acomic book, with photographs instead of illustrations, combined withsmall dialogue bubbles. The familiarity of fotonovelas in the Spanish-language culture makes them an effective vehicle for health promo-tion and health education. The project is intended to raise awarenessof the importance of HIV testing, increase education and communi-cation about sexual health and empower women to take control oftheir health. The series, aimed at Hispanic women, is expected tobe released in 2013.
RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF IMMUNIZATION
In November 2012, The Health Collaborative assumed manage-ment of the Immunization San Antonio Coalition, at the request ofgroup organizers. The Immunization San Antonio Coalition pro-motes immunizations through collaboration and education with thevision of creating a community where all residents are protectedfrom vaccine-preventable disease. The immunization of children andadults is integral to improving community health.
VACCINATE 2012 REACHES UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS
The Health Collaborative partnered with Metro Health to offer aconvenient way for individuals to get their flu or Tdap vaccine (whoop-ing cough vaccine) while visiting early voting polling sites for the na-tional presidential election in November 2012.. The vaccinate effortat polling sites is the first one of its kind in Texas, although it is com-mon in other parts of the country. More than 150 doses of vaccineswere conveniently given to voters who turned out at the polling sitesduring the one-day event held on the last day of early voting.
LET’S COLLABORATE! If you are interested in becominginvolved with any of these initiatives, please visit www.health-collaborative.net for more information or phone Elizabeth DeLa Fuentes, executive director, at (210) 481-2573.
COMMUNITY INITIATIVESThe Health Collaborative is empowering our residents to create a healthier community
for all of us through innovation and collaboration.
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Since its inception, The Health Collaborative has beena member-dues supported nonprofit. However, overthe years, the board of directors committed to diversi-fying income and revenue sources through partnershipsand collaborations. We also apply for and receive foun-dation grants, enter into fee-for-service contracts, andpursue other fundraising opportunities.
We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to ourmembers for their continued support and to our fund-ing partners and supporters. Without their commit-ment to community health in San Antonio and BexarCounty, our mission to improve the health status of thecommunity through collaborative means would not bepossible. Thank you for your support!
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OUR FUNDING
DONATE. The Health Collaborative welcomes donationsfrom individuals, foundations, businesses, clubs and organizations.We also are available for presentations to your group. You maydonate directly to a specific program or project or to unre-stricted funds. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Youmay donate by mailing your check to The Health Collaborative,1002 N. Flores St., San Antonio, TX 78212 or by visiting our website, www.healthcollaborative.net and clicking on “Donate Now.”
VOLUNTEER. From planting in the community garden toworking with school children, THC offers a variety of volunteeropportunities that provide hands-on involvement in improvingcommunity health. Last year, volunteers contributed 4,200 vol-unteer hours with an in-kind value of $91,500. For more infor-mation on volunteering, phone Trina Roman at 210-481-2573.
Here’s How You Can HelpYou can make a difference in the health status of our community by supporting The Health Collaborative.
Charles L. Kight, Community Member
1002 N. Flores • San Antonio, TX 78212 • (210) 481-2573 • FAX (210) 223-0680
www.healthcollaborative.net
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