Healthy New Orleans Phase Three

Phase III

During Phase III: Implementation Planning Process (January - December 2000) , the Partnership accomplished the following:

1. Developed a Comprehensive Action Plan for the following Recommendations: Each Action Plan included yearly objectives, commitments, monthly goals, and specific actions.

1. Establish a Center for Empowered Decision-Making (CEDM) (1a.) Addresses the strategy for sustaining the efforts of the Healthy New Orleans partnership by establishing the CEDM as an official working arm of the partnership to implement and further its work.
2. Develop Community Health Networks (1b.) Addresses the development of a public health constituency by partnering with neighborhood groups, businesses and churches to establish community health networks. These networks will focus on community-level health issues to improve health disparities and outcomes.
3. Seek out new and existing resources (2) For the purpose of funding and resource development to sustain system change initiatives, this recommendation seeks to expand and redirect available resources.
4. Expand definition of public health to include quality of life indicators (5) Rooted in our concept of belief systems that govern behavior, this recommendation takes into account social conditions, environmental factors and human behavior as determinants of health. It suggests that in a community health system, basic human needs must be considered in the context of culture, community and family in order to improve overall health.
5. Expand needs assessment (9a.) By continuing and expanding the needs assessment process to determine community health needs on a neighborhood level, health inequities and disparities shall be determined and measured. Community health indicators shall be established in accordance with Healthy People 2010 Objectives for the Nation.
6. Establish a system of community-based health care (9d.) Provides for expansion of existing system of primary health care facilities in an effort to increase access and reduce health disparities. The partnership is building upon the Mayor's Coalition on Primary Health Care, Primary Care Needs Assessment of 1991.

2. Established a Task Force to develop a plan for establishing the CEDM that included seeking out new and existing resources to sustain system change initiatives (1b). The taskforce accomplished the following:

• Assessed the current financial capacity for staffing CEDM
• Met with the Greater New Orleans Foundation
• Participated in the HUD consolidated community planning
• Reviewed Leadership Training Models for possible inclusion in CEDM curriculum
• Worked with Community Voices Team to write an RFP for Community Health Networks
• Made contact with consultants for advice on setting up CEDM and some initial work done
• Received commitments in terms for in-kind support
• Initiated legal action for establishment as a 501(c)3 organization
• Obtained funding for community outreach position from REACH 2010 Diabetes Collaborative

3. Established a Taskforce to develop Community Health Networks (1b) A Citywide Community Voices Meeting was held to experiment with a meeting format to attract leadership from each community interested in developing Community Health Networks and/or participating in Healthy New Orleans. In addition the taskforce accomplished the following:

• Developed agenda, recruited, facilitated and held City Wide Community Voices Meeting that was well attended in spite of the daylong heavy rain.
• Seven communities consensed on their community visions and the entire group consensed on a city-wide vision.
• Held three Facilitation Training Workshops for members of the partnership with 24 individuals participating in the training.
• Held three Facilitation coaching sessions in preparation for the Community Voices Meeting where 16 partners facilitated parts of the meeting.
• Prepared and distributed a Request For Proposal (RFP) for funding of three community-level strategic planning grants.
• Held a technical assistance meeting for potential applicants for the RFP.

4. Established a Taskforce that focused on expanding the use of the definition of public health that includes quality of life indicators (5) This taskforce accomplished the following:

• Reviewed World Health Organization definition
• Distributed expanded definition of public health to health agencies
• Operationalized our working definition of public health which incorporates a more expensive view of public health

5. Established a Taskforce to expand HNO needs assessment program (9b)
This taskforce accomplished the following:

• Continued partnership with United Way in collecting data
• Reviewed and analyzed the existing data base for Healthy New Orleans surveys
• Organized 17 zip codes into 8 geographical areas
• Collected 1400+ surveys; Tabulated 1053 of them
• Organized community resource information into descriptive community profiles
• Identified doctors and other Health Providers that accept Medicaid
• Reviewed information from 1999 Needs Assessment on health indicators, sources of data, and quality of life indicators
• Documented risk factors from the Healthy New Orleans survey by zip code and community
• Developed community asset maps of the 8 areas to include locations of schools, police stations, fire stations, health facilities
• Developed resource packet and a resource list for 8 geographical areas
• Developed city wide asset maps of the 8 geographical areas from computer GIS system and reproduced them for the citywide Community Voices meeting

6. Established a system of community-based health care (9d)

• Actively participated with the New Orleans Partnership for Care of the Uninsured in funding of the community access program
• Supported development of the EXCELth Family Health Center in New Orleans East
• Participated in the development of the Neighborhood Mental Health Initiative (EXCELth, Daughters of Charity, Family Services, Mental Health Association)
• Supported the NOHD activities to improve access to care through innovated methods of increasing insurance coverage

7. Established a Communication and Marketing Taskforce that accomplished the following:

• Edited the New Orleans Community Public Health System Improvement Plan for publication
• Developed and distributed a HNO flyer and brochure
• Registered "HealthyNewOrleans.Org" web site address
• Prepared the public relations materials for Community Voices Meeting
• Publicized the Community Voices Meeting
• Updated HNO fact sheet
• Updated a HNO partnership data base
• Wrote scripts to use in response to request for information about Healthy New Orleans

8. Participated in the Public Health Governance Workgroup and other national, state, and local initiatives related to Turning Point objectives.

The Public Health Governance Workgroup was a joint learning activity involving ten local Turning Point Partnerships. The purpose of the Workgroup was to explore procedures and structures that local partnerships could use to routinely involve diverse people and organizations in decisions and actions related to community health. In addition the partners participated in the following:

1. Big cities exchange
2. New Orleans Partnership for Care of the Uninsured "HRSA Community Access Program"
3. Louisiana State Turning Pointy Coordinating Committee
4. ICA Millennium Connection Conference
5. American Public Health Association "Presentation"
6. Kellogg Foundation Community Voices Conference
7. Neighborhood Mental Health Initiative

9. Developed the following Resource Materials

1. Facilitative Leadership Training Manual
2. Eight Community Profiles
3. Community Voices Documentation
4. Healthy New Orleans Action Plans