The Public Health Partnership

Innovation in Community Health Improvement

The Public Health Partnership is a new initiative of The Horizon Foundation and the Howard County Health Department. This multi-year program strengthens the community health collaborative embodied in the Department's Health Improvement Plan (HIP) Steering Committee. The Foundation has been an active participant on the Committee since its formation four years ago.

Horizon Foundation President & CEO Richard M. Krieg and Howard County Health Officer Penny Borenstein listen to speakers at a Health Improvement Plan Steering Committee meeting.

The Foundation believes that public health systems can achieve maximum effectiveness when they are more community-based and collaborative. Working with individuals, coalitions, nonprofits and other groups expands the public health sector's ability to improve the health status of community residents. Conversely, if a community health improvement process occurs without the active involvement of public health departments, valuable energy can be dissipated.

Working with citizen groups, coalitions and others, the Health Department's HIP process incorporates community health assessment, setting overall community health priorities and taking collective action. The Partnership was expressly designed to augment the ability of community coalitions and other partners to improve health assessment, reach consensus at the community level on priorities and coordinate this community- driven process with the Health Department.

At its core, the Partnership is a grant program jointly administered by the Foundation and the Health Department. The steering Committee's member coalitions and organizations submit proposals, which are reviewed by a grant review panel with representation from the Foundation, the Health Department, the Association of Community Services, the Department of Citizen Services, Howard County General Hospital and the Health Alliance. The Local Health Officer, Foundation president and their staffs work in tandem to oversee the process.

The Foundation has committed $200,000 to the Public Health Partnership. Representative grants include funding to the Howard County Tobacco Coalition, the Howard County Cancer Coalition and the Howard County Diabetes Coalition.