Saint Francis Hospital and Foundation Leaders Present National Webinar on Community Health Partnerships

Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership to be highlighted as best practice

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 6, 2018) – The story behind the Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership is one of health equity, resource alignment, and a dedication to community in one of San Francisco’s toughest neighborhoods. 

A textbook example of hospitals making partnerships to improve community health, the Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership (TLHIP), led by Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and the Saint Francis Foundation, provides a framework to improve neighborhood health outcomes in the Tenderloin. 

Hospital and foundation leaders will tell the TLHIP story in a free webinar hosted by the American Hospital Association on Thursday, June 13. The speakers will share best practices for creating and sustaining successful hospital-community partnerships nationally with other hospitals and their partners.

TLHIP launched in 2014 in San Francisco with more than 100 partners including government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and grassroots organizations with the goal of improving community health by addressing social determinants. 

“We are honored to be asked to lead this national discussion on best practices for hospital-community partnerships,” said Jennifer Varano, director of community health, volunteer services, and emergency management at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. “Our team is highly invested in our local community, working with our incredible partners, and this discussion provides us an opportunity to step back and view our work over the last five years more broadly and highlight what has worked best in improving the lives of Tenderloin residents.”

The missions of the Saint Francis Foundation and Saint Francis Memorial Hospital compel both to deliver exceptional health care services and compassionate care to the poor and disenfranchised. As a fully accredited, non-profit community hospital in downtown San Francisco, this responsibility extends not only to Saint Francis’ patients, but to the communities in which their patients live, work and play. 

“As an early adopter of the collective impact model, TLHIP is eager to share its place-based strategy focusing on the core community priorities of improving safety, building community connections, and creating opportunities to make healthier choices,” said Will Douglas, manager of community impact at the Saint Francis Foundation. “We will address how we have engaged stakeholders to come together on key initiatives and how these approaches have improved the Tenderloin community’s sense of safety and increased opportunities for health and well-being for residents.”

During the webinar, attendees will learn:

• How hospitals and their foundation partners are uniquely positioned to bring community benefit expertise, relationships, and resources together to lead upstream innovations in community health
• How hospital systems can redefine their role in community and create pathways to health by engaging deeply with community partners, aligning mutually reinforcing activities, and collaborating for impact. 
• Examples of integrated impact through individual case studies:
  
  • Neighborhood Parks and Open Space Planning and Activation 
  • Creating Safer Streets through Tenderloin Safe Passage
  • Building Neighborhood Power and Voice through Block by Block Activation

Speakers include: 

• Will Douglas, Manager, Community Impact, Saint Francis Foundation
• Jennifer Kiss, Vice President, Programs, Saint Francis Foundation
• Jennifer Varano, Director, Community Health, Volunteer Services, Emergency Management, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital
• Patricia A. Zamora, Area Director: Tenderloin/Mission/Columbia Park Clubhouses, Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco

Learn more or register at: https://www.saintfrancisfoundation.org/event/tlhip-presents-an-aha-webinar-innovations-in-hospital-and-community-health-partnerships/ 

In addition, those interested in this topic can read the feature, “The Push to Advance Health and Safety in the Tenderloin” on the American Hospital Association’s web site, and see four success stories from this community initiative. 

https://www.aha.org/education-events/innovations-hospital-and-community-health-partnerships 

About the Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership:
Led by the Saint Francis Foundation and Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, the Tenderloin Health Improvement Partnership (TLHIP) provides a framework to collectively address health equity and improve neighborhood health outcomes in the Tenderloin.

For more information: visit 
https://www.saintfrancisfoundation.org/where-we-invest/tenderloin-health-improvement-partnership/ or https://www.facebook.com/tenderloinhip/ 

About the Saint Francis Foundation:
Founded in 1979, the Saint Francis Foundation is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization entrusted to provide philanthropic support to Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and the community the hospital serves. 

For more information, visit: https://www.saintfrancisfoundation.org or https://www.facebook.com/SaintFrancisFoundation/ 

About Saint Francis Memorial Hospital:
Dignity Health Saint Francis Memorial Hospital is an accredited, not-for-profit community hospital that has been providing exceptional healthcare in San Francisco for more than 100 years. Located atop Nob Hill, near downtown San Francisco, Saint Francis is home to the Bothin Burn Center, the largest in Northern California, the Center for Sports Medicine, and the Saint Francis Orthopedic Institute. With its close proximity to downtown San Francisco, Saint Francis also specializes in Occupational Health and Emergency Medicine. Saint Francis has been designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Spine and Hip/Knee Replacement Surgery and is a Certified Stroke Center by the Joint Commission. For more information, call (415) 353-6000 or visit DignityHealth.org/SaintFrancis.