LAURIE VANHOOSE | TREATY OAK STRATEGIES The Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model was a 5-year Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center project (running May 2017 to April 2022) that tested whether systematically identifying and addressing the health-related social needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries’ through screening, referral, and community navigation services has an impact on healthcare utilization, including emergency department visits; inpatient admissions, readmissions, and utilization of outpatient services; total cost of care; and/or the pro ..read more

“EHF’s grant to The Georgetown Project was one of the Foundation’s first investments in a project to improve relational health and early childhood brain development outside of a large metro area. The impact on the social and cognitive development of young children, particularly through its Bridges to Growth program, continues to enrich families in Georgetown.” Cindy LuciaSenior Program Officer More about The Georgetown Project  The Georgetown Project (TGP) has consistently mobilized community resources, relationships, and services to ensure that the youth of Georgetown grow into car ..read more

In 2021 and 2022, Aetna and Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) collaborated to learn more about food security, centering on the everyday challenges people face while trying to meet their food needs. Departing from conventional methods, this partnership embraced a solution-oriented perspective. This Digging Deeper post is part of a blog series exploring this journey from different viewpoints. SIMONE BENZ | SUSTAINABLE FOOD CENTER (SFC) With origins in community agriculture and food access, Sustainable Food Center (SFC) has quite literally been rooted in community from its beginnings. O ..read more

Dr. Ann Barnes President and CEO At Episcopal Health Foundation, we’ve chosen maternal health as one of our key priorities because we know that it’s an area where we can make impactful differences to improve health outcomes not only for pregnant Texans, but for entire families and communities.  During a week focused on Black maternal health, I’m reminded of the urgency of our work and the importance of EHF’s mission to promote health equity. Two recent legislative victories that EHF advocated for are now helping break the cycle of inequitable maternal mortality in Texas.   ..read more

In Common 2024 at Camp Allen brought together 85 participants from 38 congregations and organizations to be inspired, gain new skills, and share stories about improving health in the communities they serve across the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Bishop Andy Doyle kicked off the weekend event by sharing the history and compelling call to service that led to the establishment of the Episcopal Health Foundation and its mission to improve health, not just health care across the diocese. Dr. Ann Barnes, EHF’s president and CEO, explained the background behind the foundation’s new priorities for c ..read more

Do you know an organization working to improve #HealthNotJustHealthCare in Texas through food/nutrition, diabetes prevention, and/or maternal health? Episcopal Health Foundation is offering a unique capacity building opportunity for small nonprofits with operating budgets under $750,000. Register here to join an online information session on Wednesday, April 17 from 11:30am – 12:30pm EHF is partnerning with Resilia for the program that’s designed to support nonprofits with smaller budgets that historically may not have been able to access support for operational capacity building work. We a ..read more

After a year-long journey of finding shared purpose and becoming more effective in their communities, five health coalitions from across Texas gathered in Houston to celebrate their achievements with EHF’s Collaborating for Healthy Communities Initiative (CHCI).  The gathering – themed around connection, reflection, and celebration – marked the end of EHF’s 12-month capacity-building opportunity designed to enhance the collaborative efforts of organizations dedicated to advancing health within their communities. The five coalitions are working in neighborhoods across Houston, Galveston ..read more

Those are the findings of a report examining the overall economic impact associated with health disparities across the state and estimates the cost burden for all 254 counties in Texas. Episcopal Health Foundation, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, and St. David’s Foundation sponsored the report.  The Economic Impacts of Health Disparities in Texas report conducted by researchers at Altarum found preventable health differences for people of color and those with lower incomes in Texas. Black and Hispanic children are more likely to grow up in neighborhoods with high povert ..read more

In 2021 and 2022, Aetna and Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) collaborated to learn more about food security, centering on the everyday challenges people face while trying to meet their food needs. Departing from conventional methods, this partnership embraced a solution-oriented perspective. This Digging Deeper post is part of a blog series exploring this journey from different viewpoints. ANGIE HOCHHALTER, Ph.D | Aetna Better Health of Texas Aetna Better Health of Texas®, a CVS Health® company, is helping to make food available across Texas through community investments from Aetna ..read more

In 2021 and 2022, Aetna and Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) collaborated to learn more about food security, centering on the everyday challenges people face while trying to meet their food needs. Departing from conventional methods, this partnership embraced a solution-oriented perspective. This Digging Deeper post is part of a blog series exploring this journey from different viewpoints. ARVIND SINGHAL, Ph.D | University of Texas at El Paso What is the premise of the Positive Deviance Approach? The foundation of the Positive Deviance approach is the belief that in every community ..read more