Maine Health Access Foundation

Achieving better health requires more than the delivery of clinical care.  People need access to resources and support within their communities to sustain and improve health. 

Grantees in MeHAF's pilot program, Fund for the Future, are reporting success in promoting healthy eating, physical activity and nutrition education, providing fresh foods for schools and food pantries and creating collaborative relationships with other nonprofits in the community with common goals.  We are examining these lessons to help shape how MeHAF can go beyond the provision of traditional health care services to focus on broad community and environmental factors that affect health.

We will be convening key leaders and stakeholders in 2011-2012 to help us define and better understand how clinical health care can be effectively linked with resources in people's communities.  Through this work we will encourage community organizations to collaborate and integrate resources to improve health.  Our strategies and tools to achieve better health in communities will also be guided by public input as well as the engagement of clinicians, advocates, community leaders, policymakers and others using an array of approaches, including:

• grant funding
• policy and advocacy
• public engagement
• leadership development
• publications

To learn more about MeHAF's approach to Achieving Better Health in Communities, please contact Len Bartel at lbartel@mehaf.org or (207) 620-8266 x107.