Trenton Health Team, an alliance of the city’s major providers of healthcare services, has been awarded a five-year grant totaling $2.5 million by Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation, to build on collaborative efforts aimed at improving the health and well-being of the Trenton community. Trenton is one of six communities nationwide that were selected as grantees under Trinity Health’s Transforming Communities Initiative.
The Transforming Communities Initiative will deploy evidence-based strategies aimed at reducing rates of smoking and youth obesity, improving access to nutrition and physical activity opportunities, reducing health disparities, and enhancing community wellness and resiliency.
“We are proud to partner with Trenton Health Team in bringing this initiative to the Trenton community, where we have a commitment to investing in population health,” said Vince Costantino, chief administrative officer of St. Francis Medical Center. “We view this as an important part of our health ministry — bringing preventive and educational services beyond our hospital walls through vital partnerships with the Trenton Health Team and like-minded organizations.”
“We have been working consistently since our founding to create strong partnerships within the Trenton community,” said Gregory Paulson, executive director of the Trenton Health Team. “This award…[will bring] significant resources to expand and enhance our ability to make meaningful and long-term health improvements at the policy, systems, and environment level.”
Trenton Health Team will work through its Community Advisory Board to develop a detailed action and evaluation plan for the initiative. Key partners who provided letters of support for the application include Capital Health, Henry J. Austin Health Center, Isles, Inc., the Trenton YMCA/New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids-Trenton, Millhill Child and Family Development, Catholic Charities El Centro, Children’s Home Society of New Jersey, and Children’s Futures.
“I commend Trinity Health for focusing on community transformation, including the built environment, economic revitalization and other social determinants of health – areas that are also a major focus in our Trenton250 Master Planning Process,” said Mayor Eric Jackson, who also provided a letter of support for Trenton Health Team’s application. “We recognize the great value of this opportunity and look with confidence to the Trenton Health Team’s leadership in this collaborative endeavor. We believe this initiative will be a powerful catalyst for further aligning and galvanizing our City-wide efforts to improve population health within our community.”
Trenton Health Team earned the grant after responding to a request for proposals that defined appropriate multi-sector partners for these funded community collaborations and was eligible to apply for the program through its partnership with St. Francis Medical Center, which is an affiliate of Trinity Health. Trenton Health Team has a history of harnessing the collective power of leaders, partners, and community members to advance its mission to transform healthcare for the city by forming a committed partnership with the community to expand access to high quality, coordinated healthcare.
“These types of partnerships help break down the unintended community silos that can stand in the way of good health,” said Quentin Moore, director of population health and disparities prevention for Trinity Health. “It gives partners a chance to address shared concerns and make the most of beneficial opportunities to transform people’s lives.”
“We are delighted to be providing the Trenton community with this support,” said Bechara Choucair, M.D., senior vice president for Safety Net and Community Health, Trinity Health. “St. Francis Medical Center and the Trenton Health Team have a strategic collaboration and shared commitment to improving people’s lives. It’s a great investment.”
About the Trenton Health Team: Trenton Health Team (THT) is an alliance of the city’s major providers of healthcare services including Capital Health, St. Francis Medical Center, Henry J. Austin Health Center and the City of Trenton’s Department of Health and Human Services. By forging partnerships, creating new educational pathways and engaging city residents in creative ways, the Trenton Health Team is transforming healthcare for residents of the community. THT receives generous support from The Nicholson Foundation, corporate partners and other foundations. For more information, visit www.trentonhealthteam.org.
About St. Francis Medical Center: St. Francis Medical Center, a member of Trinity Health System, is an acute care teaching hospital recognized as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures from The Joint Commission. St. Francis has also earned an “A” for its Hospital Safety Score by Leapfrog. Most noted for its advanced cardiac surgery program and the first accredited stroke center in the county, St. Francis features regional services including the Heart Hospital, a Sleep Disorder Center and an extensive Community Outreach Program. Partners in care include LIFE St. Francis (Living Independently For Elders), The Assisted Living Program at St. Francis and LifeCare Physicians, PC, which includes primary care, bariatric and general surgery throughout the region. For more information, visit www.stfrancismedical.org.
About Trinity Health: Trinity Health is one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. It serves people and communities in 21 states with 90 hospitals, 124 continuing care locations — including home care, hospice, PACE and senior living facilities — that provide nearly 2.5 million visits annually. Based in Livonia, Mich., and with annual operating revenues of $15.8 billion and assets of $20.4 billion, the organization returns about $1 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. Trinity Health employs about 95,000 full-time employees, including 3,900 employed physicians. Committed to those who are poor and underserved in its communities, Trinity Health is known for its focus on the country’s aging population. As a single, unified ministry, the organization is the innovator of Senior Emergency Departments, the largest not-for-profit provider of home health care services — ranked by number of visits — in the nation, as well as the nation’s leading provider of PACE (Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) based on the number of available programs. For more information, visit www.trinity-health.org. You can also follow @TrinityHealthMI on Twitter.
