Mar 1, 2016, 9:00 AM, Posted by
Nicole Bronzan
For the first time, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has issued a solicitation asking for global ideas to help build a Culture of Health in the U.S. Karabi Acharya, who directs the Foundation’s new efforts to learn from overseas, tells us more about this opportunity, RWJF’s vision, and her own connection to the work.
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Feb 24, 2016, 10:00 AM, Posted by
Catherine Arnst
“Jobs in Newark, New Jersey are as rare as dinosaurs,” says Barbara LaCue. She should know—the 51-year-old Newark resident was unemployed for more than five years after being laid off in 2008 from a steady factory job. She ended up living in a homeless shelter with her two sons.
Then, last October that dinosaur showed up. It took the form of a 67,000 square foot ShopRite, the first full service supermarket to serve the 25,000 people in the city’s struggling University Heights neighborhood.
ShopRite took over a site that had been vacant since the infamous Newark Riots in 1967. It is in a neighborhood where the poverty rate ranges between 25 and 40 percent, and half the households do not have access to a car. ShopRite is the anchor tenant of Springfield Avenue Market, a planned $91 million dollar retail and housing development funded in part by The Reinvestment Fund, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
But to Barbara, what matters most are the 350 full and part-time jobs the store created, most of them filled by people from the community. She is a chef at the deli counter, and she sees the job as more than just a living—it is a creative outlet. Barbara makes a mac n’ cheese to die for, and there are few people who can claim to love their job as much as she does hers. “This store is the best. I love this store.”
Her colleague Donald Douglas, also a lifelong Newark resident, works in the produce section. No one in Newark wanted to hire people from the neighborhood before Shoprite came along, says Donald. “Now, this is my supermarket. We all greet people with a smile here, because we are part of the community.”
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Feb 17, 2016, 10:30 AM, Posted by
Najaf Ahmad
She was abruptly awakened by a phone call at 5:00 in the morning as Hurricane Katrina was ravaging New Orleans. Evacuees were fleeing the devastation and arriving in Houston by the tens of thousands to escape. Herminia Palacio was then the executive director of Houston’s Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services. She had until 11:00 p.m. to figure out how to care for them.
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Feb 12, 2016, 10:00 AM, Posted by
Pam S. Dickson
Few things inspire me like the challenge to build a Culture of Health in America. But success depends on the skills and creativity of our leaders—their ability to influence, inspire and lead in a rapidly changing world. Many of these leaders must also be part of those communities with limited resources and opportunities, if we are to tackle the pernicious effects of racism, poverty and inequity. They must represent every sector and discipline, recognizing that health is influenced by complex social factors beyond health care. These leaders have to abandon status quo, silos and their assumptions, and create a new reality.
Our Advancing Change Leadership programs continue our decades of work to support the development and diversity of health care leaders, and expands our investment to leaders from other sectors who have the passion, ingenuity and influence required to build health into our communities and nation as a whole. We are building a diverse network of dedicated leaders committed to equity and better health.
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Feb 8, 2016, 9:15 AM, Posted by
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
One year ago, I traveled to New York City to announce that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation would commit $500 million toward the goal of helping all children grow up at a healthy weight by 2025, bringing our total investment on this issue to more than $1 billion.
The gym at West Side High was packed and brimming with excitement on announcement day. We cheered early signs of progress in places like Philadelphia, New York City and rural North Carolina, but all of us knew the job wasn’t done. Even in places reporting good news, progress usually wasn’t reaching low income families and communities of color equitably. Everyone agreed we had to push harder, both to accelerate the pace of progress and ensure that its benefits reached all our children.
Now it’s one year later, and I’m pleased to report that the optimism we felt proved justified.
Nationally, research shows that school lunches have improved, and both students and parents support the healthy changes. Physical education is now due for a major upgrade, thanks to new funding sources in the just-passed education law that replaced “No Child Left Behind.”
The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s NHANES study confirm that we are on the right track. Obesity rates are down five percentage points among our youngest children and are holding steady among other age groups.
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Feb 2, 2016, 10:49 AM, Posted by
Susan Mende
What happens when patients gain access to the notes their doctors and nurses take during a visit? A culture shift with empowered and motivated patients at the center.
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