The Health Collaborative 2013

Improving the health status of the community through collaborative means.

A Special Section from

2013

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The Health Collaborative 2012-13 Board of Directors Stephen Blanchard, PhD

Our Lady of the Lake University Chair

Charlene Doria-Ortiz

Bexar County Department of Community Resources Secretary/Treasurer

Palmira Arellano Methodist Healthcare Immediate Past Chair

Beth Davenport, RN Baptist Health System

Theresa De La Haya, RN, MPH University Health System

Robert Ferrer, MD

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Greg Gieseman

Community First Health Plans

Charles L. Kight

Community Member

Sandy Morander

YMCA of Greater San Antonio

Pilar Oates

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas

Tim Porter, MBA Appddiction Studio

Christine Rutherford-Stuart, MPH

San Antonio Metropolitan Health District

Richard Woodley

CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System

Carol Zernial

WellMed Medical Management, Inc.

Contact Information:

The health of our community is everyone’s responsibility. It affects how well our kids learn in school, how productive we are at work, and the ability of our families to contribute to the 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-private model for solving community health issues. Our organization, through its members and staff, represents a collaborative effort that is improving the health of our community.

Our collaboration is based on research. We conduct the Bexar County Community Health Assessment every three years. It is the foundation of our efforts and a signature project of The Health Collaborative. The 2010 assessment was released in February 2011 to more than 200 business, civic and community leaders who embraced the data as essential in preparing for the challenge of improving health through collaboration and peer support within their organizations. The report was hailed as one of the most comprehensive in the 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 community stakeholders. This representative data strengthens community knowledge of those behaviors that lead to poor health outcomes—behaviors that we can address through preventive care and education.

In this special section, you will learn how we have expanded our community partnerships to further strengthen our commitment to our priority issues of health literacy, youth obesity prevention and youth mental health. The superior leadership of our well-established professional volunteer councils has made it possible for us to serve and support our Bexar County families like never before.

Our goal as an organization is to continually improve how we assist, empower and improve the 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 and healthier future.

The Health Collaborative is a powerful network of citizens, community organizations and businesses. We invite you to join us on our journey to a healthier community!

Elizabeth De La Fuentes Executive Director

Stephen Blanchard, PhD Board Chair

The Health Collaborative 1002 N. Flores Street San Antonio, TX 78212 Phone (210) 481-2573 Fax (210) 223-0680

www.healthcollaborative.net

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"The unique thing about it was that we weren’t talking about our services or our programs.We were talking about people in need, and when the focus got back to where the needs are, there was a lot of common ground.

"The Health Collaborative is one of the best things that ever happened to San Antonio. That’s because the people involved really care about the health status of the community and the health status of future generations."

Theresa De La Haya, RN, MPH Founding Member, The Health Collaborative, Senior Vice President of Community Health and Clinical Prevention Programs, University Health System

“The Health Collaborative compiles and publishes the assessment as a gift to the community with the understanding that the more the community knows about its health status, the better able the community will be to take collaborative action to improve it.”

Stephen Blanchard, PhD 2012-13 THC Board Chair.

“The Health Collaborative was born out of the realization that no matter how much money we pump into public or private health care, the most cost effective thing we can do is get more people to engage in healthy lifestyles. The Health Collaborative has made great strides in measuring our overall health as a community and outlining the health risks we still need to tackle so leaders across all spectrums can make better decisions to move us closer to being a healthy county.”

The Honorable Nelson Wolff Bexar County Judge

Improving the Health Status of the Community Through Collaborative Means The Health Collaborative serves as a convening organization bringing together the area’s health care systems, community organizations, and businesses to implement a more synergistic approach to solving the region’s critical community health needs, while efficiently utilizing resources.

Our Mission

The mission of the organization is to improve the health status of the community through collaborative means. Priority issues of The Health Collaborative are prevention of youth obesity, health literacy, and youth mental health.

The Board of Directors of the Health Collaborative is committed to: • Defining and implementing a comprehensive community health assessment process on a triennial basis

• Enhancing positive community health outcomes by leveraging appropriate resources

• Playing a leadership role in evaluating, developing, funding and implementing health initiatives

• Decreasing duplication of health services in the community and promoting coordinated efforts for the best possible community health outcomes

Bexar County Community Health Assessment

A nonprofit organization, The Health Collaborative began informally in 1997 when the city’s major health care organizations agreed to put aside their competitive business practices to conduct a comprehensive health needs assessment. It has

evolved to become the Bexar County Community Health Assessment, a signature project of The Health Collaborative. A comprehensive report of local health, it guides the community’s efforts toward prevention and health improvement.

The 2010 assessment was embraced by community leaders and hailed as one of the most comprehensive in the nation. Nonprofit organizations throughout the city have found the assessment to be an insightful planning tool, using its data when writing grants and evaluating and developing their programs. Area health care systems have used data from previous assessments to make critical program decisions. The Health Collaborative uses the assessment to identify its priority issues.

Work is under way to produce the 2013 assessment. To access the 2010 Bexar County Community Health Assessment, visit www.healthcollaborative.net.

Community Health Improvement Plan

Based on the success of the community health assessment, Metro Health invited THC to serve as the host for the planning process for the first Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) for Bexar County.

The CHIP was released in 2012.

“The CHIP is a call to action to encourage businesses, organizations and neighborhoods to become partners in implementing the recommendations,” said Elizabeth De La Fuentes,THC executive director. “Achievement of the goals will be monitored through future community assessment activities, and the plan will be revised in 2014.”

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OUR PROGRAMS

PROJECT MEASURE UP Decreasing Youth Overweight and Obesity Through Innovation, Leadership and Collaboration

Prevention of youth obesity is a priority for The Health Collaborative. At the request of funders, THC developed and manages Project Measure Up (PMU), a surveillance and service program aimed at decreasing the prevalence of youth overweight and obesity in Bexar County through innovation, leadership and collaboration PMU staff and volunteers work with Bexar County school districts and Education Service Center Region 20 to meet the unfunded mandates established by Texas State Senate Bill 530.

The mandate requires that thousands of Bexar County students in grades three through twelve undergo yearly FitnessGram tests. The assessment tests provide quantitative data on the physical state of children’s health related to youth obesity. This collaboration involves:

The Project Measure Up Volunteer Corps. The Health Collaborative trains and maintains the PMU Volunteer Corps to conduct the assessments.Through agreements with the school districts, PMU provides these trained volunteers free of charge.

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The Youth Obesity Prevention Partners Council.

Organized and managed by The Health Collaborative, the Council is composed of program managers of communitybased youth obesity prevention programs. The Council provides seamless programming across participating school districts.

The District Health Index (DHI). Developed and maintained by The Health Collaborative, the DHI, using FitnessGram data, illustrates over time the health status of Bexar County children with regards to physical fitness and the prevalence of overweight and obesity. It allows our community to identify where more resources are needed, as well as what strategies/programs are working. To access the DHI, visit www.healthcollaborative.net.

YOUTH MINDS MATTER Pilot Program Uses Screening Tool and Referral Information to Help Children at Risk for Behavioral Health Problems

Being overweight not only causes health problems for children, it also can lead to social and emotional problems that can have far-reaching effects. Overweight and obese children are often the target of bullying and also often experience depression, anxiety and difficulty with social interaction.With generous funding from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, The Health Collaborative is developing Young Minds Matter, an early identification and screening program to help children who are at risk for behavioral health problems get the help they need.

“Mental health is a key focus area for us, and we are always looking for partners who are doing innovative work,” said Pilar Oates, executive director of Methodist Healthcare Ministries. “Seventy-five percent of kids in the juvenile court system have a learning disability or mental health issue.Young Minds Matter will allow us to intervene earlier and make a difference.”

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Young Minds Matter is currently a pilot program with Northeast Pediatric Associates, P.A. at its three San Antonio area clinics. Staff use a screening tool to record the emotional and physical health of their patients.

Based on the data,THC staff has identified the most prevalent behavioral health issues and compiled information on health care professionals and programs dealing with them that are convenient to Northeast Pediatric clinics. This information is being used to build an online parent resource portal, which is expected to be operational later this year. When complete, the portal will be an important resource for both parents and health care professionals. After evaluation of the pilot program, our goal is to expand YMM to other parts of the city.

SAN ANTONIO HEALTH LITERACY One of the State’s Top Programs Increases Awareness of Health Literacy as a Core Component of Community Health

Health literacy is the ability to understand health information and to use that information to make good decisions about your health and medical care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that one-third of the adult population in the United States has limited health literacy.

Through the efforts of a very active volunteer council, The Health Collaborative has one of the top health literacy programs in the country. The San Antonio Health Literacy Initiative (SAHLI) works to increase awareness of health literacy

as a core component of community health in San Antonio and was one of the first such initiatives in the country.

“With the success of our annual conference, addition of yearround health literacy programming and expanding collaborations, SAHLI is successfully making an impact in empowering consumers and providers to be more health literate,” said Jennifer Cook, PhD, RN, associate professor at the School of Nursing and Health Professions 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 and techniques to health care professionals, educators, social workers, health plan administrators, community service providers, and the public about health literacy issues.

Ongoing Health Literacy Training. SAHLI volunteers present lunch-and-learn sessions on various aspects of health literacy, including The ABCs of Health Literacy and a forms training resources seminar. The seminars attract capacity audiences. Through a generous grant from the Bexar County Department of Community Resources,THC will continue to offer this training, including the county’s first oral health and HIV education symposium.

Let’s Collaborate! If you are interested in becoming involved with these programs or designating a donation to one of them, please contact THC at www.healthcollaborative.net or (210) 481-2573.

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COUNCILS AND COMMITTEES

San Antonio Health Literacy Initiative

Charlene Doria-Ortiz Bexar County Department of Community Resources

Mindy Garcia Community First Health Plans

Mary & Vicente Garcia Eastside de la Buena Salud Promotoras

Francesca Garrett Patient Institute

Adam Ratner, MD Patient Institute

Rafael Maldonado University Health System

Kath Anderson Sage Words

Shirley Wills Shirley Wills & Associates

Denholm Oldham MAXIMUS

Youth Mental Health Council

Jeannine Von Stulz, PhD Bexar County Juvenile Probation

Elizabeth Escobar, LMSW Communities in Schools of San Antonio

Katie Elseth Child Protective Services

Kathy Cunningham, RN Clarity Child Guidance Center

Mary & Vicente Garcia Eastside de la Buena Salud Promotoras

Public Relations Committee

Cassandra Bruns Community First Health Plans

Shirley Wills Shirley Wills & Associates

Catherine Zambrano-Chavez Community First Health Plans

Karen May Baptist Health System

Melina Trevino Community First Health Plans

Kristina Aderhold Baptist Health System

Ashley Cardenas Baptist Health System

Carole Harris Methodist Healthcare

Melissa Krause CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System

Palmira Arellano Methodist Healthcare

Laura Jesse Bexar County

JoAnn King Methodist Healthcare

Volunteer Service Learning University of Texas at San Antonio Trinity APO

Texas A&M San Antonio

Jacque Burandt University Health System

Jennifer Cook, PhD, RN, CNS University of the Incarnate Word

Sheila Dismuke- Williams Health and Human Services Commission

Bonnie Scott, MS UTHSCSA

Jessica Munoz Sherfey Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas

Julie Wiley University Health System

Dominica Garza Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas

Anne Gomez Our Lady of the Lake University

Carol Schliesinger San Antonio Metropolitan Health District

Baptist School of Health Professions Dolly Armstrong Harlandale ISD

Candy Tanner Judson ISD

Tamara Casso Edgewood

Rita Hernandez Inspiration 4 Life

Roger Rodriguez San Antonio ISD

Lydia Martinez Northside ISD

Leni Kirkman University Health System

Dan Calderon WellMed Medical Management Inc. Deborah Martin YMCA of Greater San Antonio

Wayland Baptist School of Health

University of the Incarnate Word

Youth Obesity Prevention Partners Council

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Lauren Cohen National Alliance on Mental Illness

Beverly Young, RN Texas Medicaid Wellness Program

Our Lady of the Lake University

Liset Leal-Vasquez Healthier Generation

Oralia Bazaldua, PharmD UTHSCSA - Department of Family and Community Medicine

Melanie Stone UTHSCSA - Center for Humanities & Ethics

Frank Alfaro, PhD Alamo Heights ISD Jerry Gonzalez Edgewood ISD

Sandra San Miguel de Majors UTHSCSA - Epidemiology and Biostatistics

University of Texas Health Science Center

Jorge Topete Southside ISD

Victoria Gaeta Southwest ISD

Kathy Shields San Antonio Metropolitan Health District

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Anna Gonzalez San Antonio Sports

Brenda Burton San Antonio Parks and Recreation

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

The Health Collaborative is empowering our residents to create a healthier community for all of us through innovation and collaboration.

TAKING A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN HEALTHY VENDING

San Antonio is taking a leadership role nationally in the development of healthy vending guidelines as one of only a handful of cities in the country addressing the issue. Leading this effort, The Health Collaborative and the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District in 2012 unveiled a comprehensive plan to encourage healthy vending in the workplace. A coalition of community and public health experts, dietitians, and food distributors helped develop the guidelines.

The plan recommended that 75 percent of the snacks in vending machines meet the San Antonio healthy vending criteria.

“Healthy vending is a way to build healthier snacking habits in the worksite, and these habits can extend to the home and throughout the community,” said Kathy Shields, Certified Health Education Specialist, chronic disease prevention manager at Metro Health. Available 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 vendor contracts, and promoting, monitoring and evaluating their program.

• A new educational application for Apple and Android platforms aimed at kids and a web site to help drive consumer demand for healthy vending items.

WORKING WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO MAKE FITNESS A FAMILY AFFAIR

PARTNERING WITH THE RYAN WHITE HIV/AIDS EDUCATION PROGRAM

The Health Collaborative partners with the Bexar County Ryan White HIV/AIDS Education Program to provide training in case management, oral health seminars for health care professionals and a first-time HIV routine testing summit, also for health care professionals. In addition, the Ryan White Program commissioned THC to develop and produce the first fotonovela project for Latinas in San Antonio. The fotonovela is a small pamphlet in a format similar to a comic book, with photographs instead of illustrations, combined with small dialogue bubbles. The familiarity of fotonovelas in the Spanishlanguage culture makes them an effective vehicle for health promotion and health education.The project is intended to raise awareness of the importance of HIV testing, increase education and communication about sexual health and empower women to take control of their health. The series, aimed at Hispanic women, is expected to be released in 2013.

RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF IMMUNIZATION

Through its Family Fitness program, The Health Collaborative is working with area school districts to help fitness become a family affair.

In January 2012, San Antonio Sports commissioned THC to develop a family fitness program that would be implemented in seven school districts throughout the summer. The program was so successful that the school districts decided to take the program to more families by partnering with THC last fall.

THC works with San Antonio, Harlandale, Edgewood, Southwest, and Northside Independent School Districts to present family fitness events once a week, providing certified trainers and health information. For the Harlandale Independent School District, the partnership with THC has opened many doors. “Between 30 and 40 women attend our classes,” said Dolly Armstrong, Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) facilitator for Harlandale ISD. “Our fitness program has started to take off in the family direction because of the support of THC. We would not have been able to continue without their support.”

In November 2012, The Health Collaborative assumed management of the Immunization San Antonio Coalition, at the request of group organizers. The Immunization San Antonio Coalition promotes immunizations through collaboration and education with the vision of creating a community where all residents are protected from vaccine-preventable disease. The immunization of children and adults is integral to improving community health.

The community garden is an excellent example of community collaboration. Through the garden The Health Collaborative addresses obesity by improving neighborhood access to fresh vegetables and fruits and engaging youth and families in community education on a variety of garden-related topics, including nutrition, physical fit-

LET’S COLLABORATE! If you are interested in becoming involved with any of these initiatives, please visit www.healthcollaborative.net for more information or phone Elizabeth De La Fuentes, executive director, at (210) 481-2573.

GROWING A HEALTHY COMMUNITY WITH A COMMUNITY GARDEN

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ness and recycling. The community garden offers volunteer opportunities for groups ranging from the Girl Scouts to seniors, and THC has developed an ongoing relationship with the Roots and Shoots Ecological Club at Austin Academy that provides gardening and educational opportunities of the students there. This multifaceted program seeks not only to show people how to grow sustainable food, but also how to incorporate healthy living into their lifestyles.

VACCINATE 2012 REACHES UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS

The Health Collaborative partnered with Metro Health to offer a convenient way for individuals to get their flu or Tdap vaccine (whooping cough vaccine) while visiting early voting polling sites for the national presidential election in November 2012.. The vaccinate effort at polling sites is the first one of its kind in Texas, although it is common in other parts of the country. More than 150 doses of vaccines were conveniently given to voters who turned out at the polling sites during the one-day event held on the last day of early voting.

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OUR FUNDING

Since its inception, The Health Collaborative has been a member-dues supported nonprofit. However, over the years, the board of directors committed to diversifying income and revenue sources through partnerships and collaborations. We also apply for and receive foundation grants, enter into fee-for-service contracts, and pursue other fundraising opportunities.

Here’s How You Can Help

You can make a difference in the health status of our community by supporting The Health Collaborative.

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our members for their continued support and to our funding partners and supporters. Without their commitment to community health in San Antonio and Bexar County, our mission to improve the health status of the community through collaborative means would not be possible. Thank you for your support!

DONATE. The Health Collaborative welcomes donations from individuals, foundations, businesses, clubs and organizations.

We also are available for presentations to your group. You may donate directly to a specific program or project or to unrestricted funds. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. You may donate by mailing your check to The Health Collaborative, 1002 N. Flores St., San Antonio,TX 78212 or by visiting our web site, www.healthcollaborative.net and clicking on “Donate Now.” VOLUNTEER. From planting in the community garden to working with school children, THC offers a variety of volunteer opportunities that provide hands-on involvement in improving community health. Last year, volunteers contributed 4,200 volunteer hours with an in-kind value of $91,500. For more information on volunteering, phone Trina Roman at 210-481-2573.

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Charles L. Kight, Community Member

1002 N. Flores • San Antonio, TX 78212 • (210) 481-2573 • FAX (210) 223-0680

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