SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 – Through the NIH Common Fund Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS), NIH awards Health Choice Network (HCN), the first funded nation-wide collaboration of health centers, with multi-year funding for the first-of-its-kind community-led research program to study ways to address the underlying structural factors within communities that affect health.
Led by Health Choice Network, the effort titled “Addressing Food Insecurity in Underserved Communities” or FoodCom, is a collaboration with coalition partners including the University of Miami’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), and Community Based Organizations including Feeding South Florida.
Two Florida Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Jessie Trice Community Health System (JTCHS) and Broward Community and Family Health Centers (BCOM), will be the champion FQHCs in initiating system wide implementation of FoodCom. They will then provide guidance to other FQHCs who join FoodCom, serving as a model for others to begin to address food insecurity on a system-wide level.
Through FoodCom, HCN will catalyze, deploy, and evaluate community-led structural interventions, leveraging multisectoral partnerships to address food insecurity, and reduce health disparities at HCN FQHCs across Florida. The goal of the project is to implement system wide, structural level and policy changes to address food insecurity at the network level.
“HCN is extremely excited to lead and participate in FoodCom. We hope to help disseminate information from our program to serve as a model for other large FQHCs networks,” said the Director of Research at Health Choice Network, Dr. Katherine Chung Bridges. “This is a timely and important project, and we are very enthusiastic to begin working with all FoodCom and ComPASS partners on this initiative.”
The project will begin with a two-year planning phase focused on building capacity through strategic partnerships to develop and pilot structural interventions deployed to address food security. The coalition partners will help in advising, guiding, and sustaining the community-led proposed interventions. Structural interventions will address social, physical, economic, or political environments that result in food insecurity.
“We are excited about this project because it will impact many patients, while developing an infrastructure within our FQHC to help meet food insecurity needs,” said Dr. Rosalyn Frazier, the Chief Executive Officer at Broward Community and Family Health Centers.
In years to follow, HCN will implement community-led structural interventions combating food insecurity and will assess the impact of these interventions on health outcomes. Interventions include assisting eligible patients in applying for state and Federal programs; linkages to food insecurity resources such as food banks and pantries located proximal to areas of greatest need and developing systems to address transportation barriers. Broadly, there will be engagement of state and local policymakers, leaders, and health plans in developing policies and community programs to address food insecurity.
“We are eager to share our experiences and successes in the project with other health centers through existing HCN touchpoints, and with key stakeholders such as Legislators, other elected officials, and health plans through existing relationships. In this way, we seek to impact food insecurity at the structural level,” said Annie Neasman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Jessie Trice Community Health System.
“Health Choice Network prides itself as a convener of health centers and partners in providing services to our communities that can alter the current state and access to quality healthcare. As we review the most critical social determinants of health impacting our communities, food insecurity remains one of the most significant opportunities in addressing chronic diseases. We are excited about the impact of this research opportunity and the promising practices and partnerships it will create for the patients served.” said Alejandro [Alex] Romillo, President and CEO at Health Choice Network.
HCN is incredibly grateful for this award and looks forward to using the funds to support their FQHCs to enable research into sustainable solutions that promote health equity to create lasting change in communities across the nation. Research reported in this press release was supported by the NIH Common Fund under award number OT2OD035883. Learn more about this project by visiting https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-launches-community-led-research-program-advance-health-equity.
About Health Choice Network
Health Choice Network, Inc. (HCN) is the first funded health center-controlled network, a successful nationwide collaboration among health centers, health center-controlled networks and partners. By providing key business services in financial, managed care, and billing support, strategic initiatives, and the latest in health information technology, participants can improve patient outcomes through increased efficiencies and more accessible care in underserved communities. Operating in twenty states and territories reporting over 7 million patient visits, HCN is recognized as a leader in the integration of health information technology among health centers and safety net providers.
