Community Health Acceleration Partnership (CHAP)

This week our colleagues at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shared updates on efforts to improve maternal health since the launch of the Biden-Harris administration’s Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis in 2022. We applaud their progress and, in particular, the administration’s focus on maternal mental health, a leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths. The Department of Health and Human Services’ national-level leadership has inspired states across the country to take similar actions—initiatives CHAP is proud to be supporting in New Jersey, Washington, Washington, DC, Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, Tennessee, and Rhode Island. 📨 Join our mailing list to learn more: http://eepurl.com/h1lwfP

Last week at the Funders for Birth Justice & Equity Summit in Chicago, CHAP Co-Director Raquel Mazon Jeffers discussed the potential of mutual aid funds to support birth workers nationwide, sharing insights from our work with the New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance. Thank you to our colleagues and co-presenters, bi3's VP of Strategic Partnerships Kiana R. Trabue, MPH and Director of Community Partnerships Jena Bradley, and Daymark Foundation Executive Director Vani Jain, for a great conversation. And thanks to everyone at Funders for Birth Justice and Equity for bringing us all together!

Change starts at the local level. As co-founders of the New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance, we're proud to support New Jersey's community birth workers, maternal health advocates, birthing people, and families—and amplify these ⬇ resources! Please share widely:

🌐 In our first 10 years, CHAP focused internationally, helping countries develop sustainable, integrated community-health systems. Today, we’re bringing lessons from our global work to the field of maternal health and building bridges to long-term financial sustainability for community-driven care. We focus on birth equity, because every birthing person deserves a system they can trust. And we work at the intersection of government and community, because we know philanthropy done differently can make a real and lasting difference. 🔗 Learn more here: https://chap.health

I've been excited about the power and potential of community health workers to both vastly improve public health and provide an extraordinary workforce opportunity ever since I heard Raj Panjabi give a moving TED Talk on community health workers in 2017. Community health workers are trained individuals who may not have the credentials of nurses or doctors, but who have the trust of their community. We have only 60,000 community health workers in the U.S. Imagine the impact if we had 1 million. To that end, with our friends at IMPaCT Care, we hosted a convening at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of thought leaders -- community health workers, Medicaid and Medicare leaders and private sector experts -- to drive the change that is necessary to scale up effective community health worker programs. To me, private capital is critical, and private capital will invest in this space as more and more evidence becomes available of the savings that can accrue to communities, health centers, insurers and businesses with the presence of community health workers. Stay tuned. Big thanks to David Erickson, Tony Davis, Dyvonne Body, MPP, Talor C., Edison Reyes, Kellye Jackson, Dawn Alley, Shreya Kangovi, Annie Cloke, Wendy McWeeny, Margarita Hart, Raj Panjabi, Kate McEvoy, Emily Carrier, Ashlee Harris, Honey Yang Estrada, MPH, CHW, Karen Hacker, Janée T., Dave A. Chokshi, MD, Jay Ludlam, Meena Seshamani, Brian Frank, Shawn Griffin, Shanteny Jackson Jackson, Tiwanna Hatcher, and Community Health Acceleration Partnership (CHAP) for your commitment and the gift of your time and wisdom.

📣 THIS WEEK IN CHICAGO:

IN THE FIELD: On Wednesday, CHAP Co-Director Wendy McWeeny moderated a panel featuring Honey Yang Estrada, MPH, CHW, President of the North Carolina Community Health Worker Association, and Dr. Karen Hacker, Director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, exploring strategies for advancing Community Health Worker programs throughout the country. Thank you to Otho Kerr and Dyvonne Body, MPP at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Dawn Alley at IMPaCT Care, for bringing an engaged and committed group together, and for making the day both possible and productive. We look forward to continuing the conversation!

📣 NEXT WEEK: On June 5th, CHAP Co-Director Wendy McWeeny will moderate a session on the current state of Community Health Worker (CHW) programs with Honey Yang Estrada, MPH, CHW, President of the North Carolina Community Health Worker Association, and Dr. Karen Hacker, Director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as part of a day-long convening focused on strategies to advance financing, organizational infrastructure, technical Infrastructure, and metrics and evaluation for community health worker programs. Learn more and register here: https://lnkd.in/eGusMSy2 #communityhealth #chw #healthequity

INNOVATE. COLLABORATE. ACTIVATE. 2024 BIRTH EQUITY FUNDERS SUMMIT Join us in Chicago, from June 11th - 13th, for the Funders for Birth Justice & Equity 2024 Summit. Building upon foundations laid by recommendations from the 2022 Summit and the 2023 Funder Landscape Analysis, funders from a wide range of sectors will be gathering to focus on advancing equitable birth outcomes. A full agenda, including the session Solidarity, Not Charity: Birth Worker Mutual Aid and Innovation, a session led by CHAP Co-Director Raquel Mazon Jeffers, Kiana R. Trabue, MPH from bi3, and Vani Jain from the Daymark Foundation can be found here: https://lnkd.in/e5Z9wFVw

🎙 WHAT DONORS NEED TO KNOW: SYSTEM CATALYSTS Trust is essential to systems change, and fostering genuine respect and collaboration around a shared vision is key to building it. On the latest episode of System Catalysts, CHAP Principals English Sall and Jeffrey Walker discuss turning donors into doers and how co-creating and learning together can create a lasting impact. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eRAmTJhs #systemschange #philanthropy #podcast