Community Health Centers & Collaborating Partnerships

I was thinking this morning on new ways to work with community health centers on addressing health care disparities among minority groups.  I have talked with some leaders from community health centers across the country on their initiatives to make a change.  Pretty often the response is "we have the idea and perhaps the internal structure, however, we do not have the sufficient funding to help us work on it"  In my opinion, there is funding, however, community health centers should consider creating stronger community partnerships in order to develop a stronger work plan and strategies of implementation.  Here are a few tips for community health centers to building strong and sustainable collaborating partnerships:

• Identify potential partners that have the same or similar mission, goals, and need.
• Identify a liaison between your CHCs and the collaborating partner(s).
• If CHCs  or any other organizations approached a potential granter/foundation as a team of community partnerships working on the same goals, this can enhance the chances of getting funding (I heard this from the Ford Foundation of NJ at a conference in the Fall 2010)
• Identify one focus area that both organizations are passionate to work on, such as health care disparities in the Hispanic or Muslim communities.
• Have funding to launch your project.
• Project sustainability needs to begin at the start of the project.
• Use series of changes (small tests) to track success and challenges.
• Start project on a small region(s) then be ready to spread either regionally, statewide, or nationally, if required or needed.
• Have the project coordinator keep a log of all project details for future replication.
• Any project model should be created with the idea of being adaptable or replicated into other communities.
• Look at already tested and proven models that you believe can be adaptable into your project.  
• Have ongoing communication with collaborating partners and keep documentation.
• If funding is not sufficient, look into your internal structure and be creative in how to use existing services, staff, or project to enhance new project.

The list can go on and on, I just wanted to share a few tips and ask of you to continue adding to this list.

Best Regards,

Helen Dao, MHA
www.daoconsultingservices.com