Health Program Kresge’s Health Program seeks to help communities overcome the economic and social disadvantages that contribute to poor health so that all Americans have the chance to enjoy productive, self-determined lives. Our premise The opportunity to pursue an education, achieve economic security and participate as a productive member of society depends on sound health. Health, in turn, is strongly influenced by opportunities and conditions in the places people live. Too often, the deck is stacked against people in low-income neighborhoods: They are disproportionately affected by polluting industries, violence and inadequate housing; their neighborhoods are underinvested. Everyone should have access to resources that support health – things like safe, affordable housing and neighborhoods, fresh food and economic opportunities. We believe the United States should shift its emphasis toward health by addressing conditions that affect not just individuals, but whole communities. The U.S. spends nearly $3 trillion a year on health care, devoting an unsustainable level of resources to medical care and only the most limited funding to improving health at the community level. Developing healthy places The places where we live shape our health. Unfortunately, many people live in neighborhoods that have limited access to affordable fresh food, safe places for recreation, highquality education and living-wage jobs. They may be exposed to environmental hazards due to substandard housing and the proximity of polluting industries. Some 70 percent of a population’s health is determined by the physical, social and economic environments and their influence on health behaviors. Addressing these conditions begins to promote health equity among people in low-income neighborhoods and foster improved health for entire communities. Our support is focused on three key determinants of health. • Our healthy housing and neighborhoods work invests in activities that speed the adoption of policies and practices that promote safe, stable housing for vulnerable people. We also support partnerships with the community development and affordable housing sectors to increase investments that foster health and connect low-income residents to opportunity. • In the healthy food systems area, we work with partners to improve local food systems in ways that benefit both health and economic development. We encourage new practices that increase access to affordable, healthy food and bolster the growth of food systems in low-income communities, where residents too often face limited access to fresh, healthy food. We are especially interested in the economic impact local food systems can have in these communities. • Our equitable transportation and land-use funding supports activities that expand and strengthen community The Kresge Foundation 3215 W. Big Beaver Road, Troy, Mich. 48084 +1-248-643-9630 Health Program Officers Stay Connected David D. Fukuzawa kresge.org Stacey Barbas Sign up to receive Kresge news in your email inbox: kresge.org/subscribe Managing Director Senior Program Officer Chris M. Kabel Senior Program Officer Phyllis D. Meadows Senior Fellow Other Team Members Twitter: @kresgefdn Facebook: facebook.com/TheKresgeFoundation YouTube: youtube.com/TheKresgeFoundation Joyce Holliman Grants Management Laura Lamberti Program Team Assistant efforts to influence policies that improve health and safety. We know that the way we design and construct our physical environments, landscapes and streetscapes influences health, shapes the level of people’s physical activity and affects the air they breathe, the water they drink and their physical safety. We fund efforts that advance urban and transit planning in ways that will improve community health. Accelerating community-centered approaches in health We take a holistic view of health, and when we talk about the health system we use the term in a broad, comprehensive way. We believe all organizations and disciplines within the health system have roles to play in fostering community health. Hospitals, clinics, providers, insurers, public health officers and others are key to addressing the social and physical conditions that affect health. The health system has, in fact, begun to recognize the need to focus on these underlying concerns. Hospitals, local health departments and organizations from other sectors have created regional partnerships to improve community health and reduce health disparities. However, much can still be done. More diverse sectors need to play significant roles in promoting the social and environmental conditions that promote community health. To advance these changes, we invest in: • Community-based collaborations developed and implemented by partners from different sectors able to advance community-driven strategies to improve health. Typically such efforts are multidimensional and address the interconnected challenges that present obstacles to health. • Leadership development, so that professionals working in public health can help transform local public health organizations, playing the new role open to them through the Affordable Care Act and serving as a resource in the community health system. • Innovative population health programs and policies that contribute to improving health at the community level, including new financial models to achieve cost-effective solutions. These activities spread prevention-oriented models that improve the health of low-income people and help create a comprehensive system that improves health outcomes, promotes health equity and reduces per-capita health costs. Our approach We believe community engagement and leadership are essential to sustainable efforts to build healthy communities. We know the challenges of improving health are best met through multisector or interdisciplinary approaches, understanding that many factors influence health and narrow efforts necessarily exclude valuable perspectives and leave core issues unaddressed. We know that different tools are appropriate to various situations. We collaborate with Kresge’s Social Investment Practice to use loans and other forms of capital in situations where traditional grantmaking may be less appropriate or effective. The Kresge Foundation is a $3.5 billion private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development in Detroit. In 2014, the Board of Trustees approved 408 awards totaling $242.5 million. That included a $100 million award to the Foundation for Detroit’s Future, a fund created to soften the impact of the city’s bankruptcy on pensioners and safeguard cultural assets at the Detroit Institute of Arts. A total of $138.1 million was paid out to grantees over the course of the year. In addition, our Social Investment Practice made commitments totaling $20.4 million in 2014.
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