“Collective Impact for Neighborhood and County Health (CINCH)”

Community Transformation Grant

Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Funded by sections 4002 and 4201 of the Affordable Care Act

NOTE:  Funding for all Community Transformation Grants nationally was terminated by Congress as of September 2014. This page has been left as documentation of what the project achieved in its short lifespan so that the framework and lessons learned are available to future initiatives working to reduce chronic disease in Bernalillo County through changes in policies, environments and systems.

Summary:
Under the framework of “collective impact”, the Bernalillo County Office of Health & Social Services/Health Promotion Team worked on a two-year capacity-building Community Transformation Grant initiative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement broad evidence and practice–based community health activities in order to reduce chronic disease rates in the County. Complex large scale problems such as addressing chronic disease require a coordinated, structured, and collaborative approach.  Collective Impact for Neighborhood and County Health (CINCH) developed a Community Transformation Implementation Plan to support policies, environmental change, access to programs, and infrastructure designed to prevent chronic disease in Bernalillo County, with particular attention to reducing disparities among populations and neighborhoods that experience higher chronic disease rates.

Goal:
The purpose of this initiative was to create a healthier community by achieving demonstrated progress in the following:

• changes in weight
• changes in proper nutrition
• changes in physical activity
• changes in tobacco use prevalence, and
• changes in emotional well-being and overall mental health.

Who was involved?
CINCH drew from existing partnerships and linkages with other County and City community programs and public/private sector stakeholders. In addition CINCH benefited from a strong multi-sectorial Leadership Team, with the Bernalillo County Community Health Council serving as the required community coalition.

The first year of the capacity-building phase (FY2012) consisted of:

• •   a detailed health assessment to update, consolidate and analyze chronic disease data for the county and for sub-populations within the county, with special attention to low-income populations, especially Hispanics and Native Americans;
  
• •     a policy/environmental scan to examine existing and needed policies, environments, programs and infrastructure that impact on chronic disease;
  
• •   a Training Academy approach to building necessary capacity and skills both in the CINCH staff and in community partner organizations in the areas of health equity, social determinants of health, health impact assessments, community engagement and results-based accountability; and
  
• •   a strategic communications plan to increase awareness and support of the development and implementation of the Community Transformation Grant (CTG) strategies
  

The second year of the capacity-building phase consisted of:

• •  a planning process that relied heavily on community involvement to develop a Community Transformation Implementation Plan outlining the required strategic directions to address policy, environmental, programmatic, and infrastructure approaches in the areas of tobacco-free living, healthy eating/active living, and high-impact evidenced-based clinical and other preventive services, as well as potential strategies directed toward social and emotional wellness, and healthy and safe physical environments. 
  

To To learn more about the CINCH capacity-building process and implementation plan, click here to see the Powerpoint presented by CINCH staff at the New Mexico Public Health Association Annual Conference on April 18, 2013.

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