Healthy Communities Initiatives

Community Integrated Health

We live our healthiest lives when we have access to nutritious food, affordable housing and health care, quality education, clean air, and safe communities where we can actively live, work, and play.

Yet most efforts to improve health have been focused on a health care system designed to treat injury or disease, rather than on the community-level factors that can prevent illness. At the same time, attempts to address healthy living at the community level have not fully engaged our health care system. If we want healthier communities, we need to build a bridge between clinical and community approaches.

“Community Integrated Health” aims to strengthen the relationships between traditional health care systems and community-based organizations, like the YMCA, in order to help all community members live their healthiest lives.