When multiple institutions across varying sectors work in alignment, we will create better health outcomes for everyone
Across California, 15 communities are working to address the biggest health issues in their regions, such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, community violence, and trauma. They are doing this through an ambitious effort called The California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (CACHI).
Kaiser Permanente is a proud partner of this effort because building a healthy community is possible when everyone works together for a common cause. Unfortunately, too often, health care providers, nonprofits, schools, business and others work in isolation.
The good news is that through CACHI, leaders across California are now working in their local communities on a new comprehensive approach that brings a variety of local players together to improve the health and well-being of their residents. In 2016, Kaiser Permanente teamed up with the state’s leading health funders to launch CACHI and help provide the expertise, infrastructure and resources that communities will need to effectively work together.
To do this, CACHI is utilizing a new model known as the Accountable Communities for Health (ACH). This model requires us to confront outdated, conventional wisdom that doctors and hospitals alone can improve community health outcomes. An ACH is unique because it contains the infrastructure to provide a formal and structured vehicle for strong partnerships. It also establishes a Wellness Fund, designed to attract and weave funding and resources to support the long-term sustainability of the ACH. Furthermore, a key component is Community Engagement. Each of the CACHI communities will engage local residents, so they are involved in shaping this new model of health.
By working together, we can make sure that everyone thrives. We’re excited that an initiative like CACHI is expanding and modernizing the way we think about what a health system is and does. Learn more about these communities and their efforts on the new CACHI website: www.cachi.org.
Author Loel Solomon is the vice president of Community Health at Kaiser Permanente
