Health Affairs highlights the use of data to “hone in on the heaviest users of the health care system in communities across the country [to] help improve health outcomes and decrease spending.” Comparing the possibilities of doing this to how law enforcement currently uses data to track crime rates and ultimately make communities safer, Health Affairs believes that “neighborhoods within cities have the power to be health hubs and create a long-term, positive health impact.”
Featuring the DC Connect Project (Washington DC), the article notes how a virtual community of resources, especially community partners, can improve health outcomes for at-risk urban areas. The authors note that “we all have a role to play when it comes to improving the health of our communities. By working together to identify “hotspots,” we can create a healthier world—one person, one neighborhood, one community at a time.”
DCHI’s Healthy Neighborhoods initiative is leading the charge in Delaware on tracking statewide healthcare “hotspots” through partnerships with community leaders, organizations, and health workers. The goal is to support the areas most affected by population health challenges. Covering the entire state, DCHI has created ten regional “Healthy Neighborhoods” that engage stakeholders from governments, local health systems, community organizations, insurers, and area employers to target four statewide priority areas (healthy lifestyles; maternal and child health; mental health and addiction; and chronic disease prevention and management). The Healthy Neighborhoods Committee is one of five initiatives by DCHI to implement practice transformation across the state. For more information, please visit us at https://www.dehealthinnovation.org/.
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