Jefferson County, AL Walker County, AL

Jefferson County, AL

 

Our Story

 

Since 2007, the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership (JCHAP) has worked through community organizations, neighborhood coalitions and local advocates to support substantial improvement in the health outcomes of Central Alabama residents.

With the support of three anchor organizations: Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, United Way of Central Alabama, and the Jefferson County Department of Health, a formally defined structure and operational guidelines for achieving the Health Action Partnership’s mission of making Jefferson County a healthier place to live, learn, work and play was created. Health Action Partnerships are community-based and address the issues recognized as priorities by residents and stakeholders. This partnership model has the unique power to weave together collaborative efforts large and small to drive collective impact.

Our Mission:

The Health Action Partnership works with diverse stakeholders to make Central Alabama a healthier place for all residents to live, learn, work, play and achieve their highest possible quality of life.

Our Vision:

Central Alabama is a healthy, thriving, and connected community, where all residents can achieve their highest possible quality of life, and is recognized as such statewide and nationally.

On the large scale, grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation totaling more than $13.5 million have helped the Health Action Partnership take major steps toward reducing obesity and tobacco use in the county. On a smaller scale, the Health Action Partnership has helped foster community-based collaborations and mobilized local support to drive community change. Currently, Health Action Partnerships are operating in Jefferson and Walker Counties, and the model is adaptable to work with diverse stakeholders in rural and urban settings.

 

Local Context: County-Specific Approach for Regional Impact

 

With over 650,000 residents and 35 independent municipalities, Jefferson is the most populated county in Alabama, and the county seat is Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city. The county’s overall racial/ethnic population is 49.9% white, 43.1% black and 3.9% Hispanic. According to the Place Matters for Health in Jefferson County report released in 2013, life expectancy can vary by as much as 20 years on average across census tracts. Historical segregation has led to a significant variation in racial concentration, poverty, life expectancy, infant mortality, and healthy food access between suburban census tracks outside of Birmingham and census tracts in Birmingham along the Interstate 20/59 corridor. Specifically, suburban census tracts found higher percentages of white residents, less poverty, longer life expectancy, lower infant mortality, and greater healthy food access.

It is also home to the state’s largest single employer, a world class research institution, and the nation’s third largest pediatric medical facility in the United States. Despite these and other tremendous resources, our community continues to struggle to achieve optimal health, and, according to the 2019 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) County Health Rankings, Jefferson County is ranked 24 out of 67 counties in Alabama for overall health outcomes. The lowest rankings are in physical environment features (66), premature death (37), and social and economic factors (23).

To address the breadth of factors that influence community health, the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership (JCHAP) was formed in 2007, and currently includes over 80 organizational members working to improve the health of Jefferson County residents. The HAP is anchored by the Jefferson County Department of Health, United Way of Central Alabama, and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, and these organizations have committed to the long-term sustainability of the partnership.

The JCHAP is part of a growing county-specific partnership network that is working to improve regional outcomes in alignment with the Bold Goals Coalition of Central Alabama (BGCCA). BGCCA is a community-based initiative to align efforts and address disparities in health, education, and financial stability in the Central Alabama region. Established in early 2014, the Bold Goals Coalition is committed to fostering change by examining root causes, establishing common, measurable goals and aligning current efforts. This collective impact process encourages collaboration and uses an “upstream” approach to make a greater impact, especially for populations in Central Alabama experiencing continued disparities in outcomes.

Current Work

 

Health Action Partnership Priority Groups are organized around the five following priority areas from the 2014 Jefferson County Community Health Improvement Plan.

Priority Groups for each of these five areas include a wide array of cross-sector partners working together around shared objectives and strategies to improve community health in Jefferson County. A Health Action Partnership Leadership Team works with Priority Groups to shape strategic plans, build collaborations and connect with resources.

  • Promote Physical Well-Being through Healthy Lifestyles

  • Optimize the Built Environment, Transportation System, and Safety

  • Improve Mental Health

  • Reduce Health Disparities Associate with Race, Ethnicity and Economics

  • Optimize Health Care Access, Availability and Utilization

Our Achievements

 

These are just a few examples of successful projects and ongoing work through the Health Action Partnership:

  • JCHAPpartners established a summer meal network to end summer hunger. In 2018 1,126 children received free, healthy lunches and snacks at 14 feeding locations for a total of 82,000 meals served during the summer.

  • The Advancing Health Equity priority group is providing resources and training to illustrate health disparities in Central Alabama and equip individuals and companies to promote health equity. Impact: more than 1,000 people have received education and training on how they can promote health equity within their organizations and communities.

  • The Mental Health priority group  has created standard screening tools, enhanced mental health training for school staff, and increased mental health services for students to ensure students in Central Alabama schools have the help that they need. Impact: More than 11,000 Central Alabama students have received behavioral screenings and nearly 500 teachers and staff have received mental health training.

  • The Built Environment priority group is linking community organizations with City of Birmingham staff to design and build streets that are safe and accessible for everyone, regardless of how they travel.  Impact: The City of Birmingham recently passed a Complete Streets policy that will guide future development, ensuring streets accommodate everyone using the street. 

  • Stronger child safety, nutrition and physical activity standards for child care centers, covering more than 17,000 children each year.

  • Passed comprehensive smoke-free policies in Bessemer, Birmingham, Clay, Midfield, Fultondale and Vestavia Hills, covering more than 300,000 people.

  • Created the Red Rock Ridge and Valley & Trail System master plan (a countywide plan for bike and pedestrian pathways). IMPACT: as of January 2019, 115 miles of trails have been completed!

  • The Healthcare Access priority group is working to reduce hospital re-admissions and provide medical and social supports to patients leaving the hospital through a home-visitation partnership with Birmingham Fire and Rescue. Impact: Through strategic outreach to specific patients, health care systems have been able to cut their re-admission rates in half.   

  • Nutrition education, wellness policy workshops, and new equipment to support physical activity and nutrition for schools, reaching more than 100,000 students across 12 school systems in Jefferson County

  • Alabama ranks second to last in the nation for food insecurity among seniors, with 12.8% of Alabama seniors missing meals or not knowing where their next meal will come from.  The Healthy Lifestyles priority group is working with senior housing facilities, food pantries and healthcare providers to deliver groceries to low-income seniors who struggle with getting enough to eat. Impact: Over 1,000 low-income seniors are currently receiving free, monthly grocery deliveries that include proteins, grains and vegetables, all of which are often missing in seniors’ diets.  The program will serve 1,450 seniors across Central Alabama within the next year.

How Can I Join?

 

If you are not already a Health Action Partner, and would like to learn how to get involved, send an e-mail to healthaction@uwca.org. To speak to someone directly, contact Ryan Parker at (205) 458-2063.

The Partnership welcomes as potential partners any agency, organization or group with a stake in the health of the community, including governmental, private non-profit, business, faith-based and community-based organizations. Membership is currently offered at no cost but involves the commitment to serve as an active member of a Health Action Partnership Priority Group. Most Health Action Partnership events and workshops are open to the general public.