In 2016, Prevention Institute (PI) and the St. Joseph Community Partnership Fund (the Fund) began to explore a path for advancing upstream, health equity-driven efforts across Providence-St. Joseph Health hospital partners. They recognized the potential power of hospitals and health systems to support or lead actions to advance health equity and improve community conditions through local policy. After several months dedicated to planning and design, the Intersections Initiative was created, based on the core principles of incorporating an equity lens and working upstream.
Planning: October 2017-November 2018 | Implementation: December 2018-December 2021
Through Intersections, partnerships in seven California communities built capacity within organizations and among decision makers to address social determinants of health like housing, education, economic and workforce development, immigration, community trauma, and civic engagement. Many partners addressed more than one of these issues, forging diverse coalitions and creating the potential for even greater impact. While all seven funded partnerships entered the Intersections Initiative with different histories of collaboration, community engagement, and advocacy, each built capacity to operationalize practices, redesign systems, and promote policies to dismantle systems of inequity and oppression and advance health and wellness in their communities.
