New Prescriptions
Public Health
Over 96 percent of the increase in life expectancy since the 1700s derives not from advances in medical technology or surgical interventions, but from public health campaigns related to sanitation, prevention of injury and disease, and healthy lifestyles. The Jewish Healthcare Foundation has anticipated the harm caused by the lack of good information, research and action on these issues. In turn, the Foundation's public health campaigns have pushed frontiers.
Squirrel Hill Health Center
The Squirrel Hill Health Center–a new Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) structured, proposed and supported by the Jewish Healthcare Foundation–was created to bring high quality, affordable community-based health care to underserved Pittsburgh residents. The center welcomes all patients irrespective of their ability to pay for care, and is acutely sensitive to the cultural needs of immigrant populations. The center embodies Perfecting Patient CareSM principles and safety standards pioneered by the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI), an organization dedicated to improving and perfecting medical care for doctors and patients alike.
Squirrel Hill Health Center Website
Working Hearts®
The need was great. One out of three women in the United States was affected by heart disease. Yet when asked about their greatest health risks, heart disease was not at the top of the list for most women. Unwilling to accept this statistic, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation provided seed funding to launch Working Hearts®, running from 2002-2007.
Working Hearts® grew quickly to become a coalition of more than 70 community organizations dedicated to the credo "Strong Women/Strong Hearts." The plan was to get women to know their numbers (body mass index-BMI, cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure) and to realize that making incremental changes in their lifestyles could greatly affect their risk for developing heart disease. Building on success, Working Hearts® expanded its mission in 2005 to address the needs of working-age men and women because we believe that an informed employee can be a "well" employee.
We thank the coalition who worked with us to spread the word and helped the community adopt a healthier lifestyle. If you would like more information about heart disease, please visit the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
Coordinated Care Network
The Coordinated Care Network (CCN) is a unique partnership of 12 area agencies with a proven track record of service to the uninsured and underserved populations of Allegheny County. Network partners form a collaboration of community-based medical, psychological and social service agencies. They provide a health and wellness safety net for the underserved through disease management, case management and organizational protocols with a client focus. CCN's success has led to integrated services, increased effectiveness, and a managed-care negotiating network with viable means of financing and delivering care to the uninsured.
Coordinated Care Network Web site
Perfecting Chronic Care
The UPMC St. Margaret's Lawrenceville Family Health Center has restructured the way it cares for patients with diabetes and depression. The Center's current care program offers a community-based demonstration of Perfecting Patient CareSM principles. Redesigned specifically according to the needs of patients, the chronic care program works to improve clinical outcomes, improve the efficiency of care and increase worker satisfaction.
Pittsburgh Health Collaborative
The goal of this initiative is create to a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) in the Pittsburgh region that will work together to participate in the Bureau of Primary Care Health Collaborative on Chronic Disease. This regional collaborative uses education, information sharing, and a community-based, grass-roots approach to redesigning and constantly working to improve care. The Jewish Healthcare Foundation provided a start-up grant for planning and structural phases of the project in the hope that it will develop an evidence-based model of care whose success can be demonstrated and replicated on a national level.