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Mayor Michael P. Peters’

"CALL TO ACTION"

TO ADDRESS THE CITY’S HEALTH CARE NEEDS, AND EXAMINE THE CITY’S PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Hartford Community Health Partnership  was established in 1996. The impetus that led to its development dates back to 1993. In response to an inadequate capacity to monitor and address the health concerns of the city and its residents, Mayor Michael P. Peters declared a "Call to Action" to address the city’s health care needs, and to examine the city’s public health care system.

This led to the formation of the Mayor’s Blue  Ribbon Task Force on Public Health in early 1994. The Task Force issued its report in November 1994. In developing its report, the Task Force took into account the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine. Specifically the report defines the role of the health department as three-fold, assessment, policy development and assurance.

The assessment role includes evaluating the health status of this community, and identifying the health needs. 

The policy development function includes taking current scientific information into account in decision-making, advocating for public health, building constituencies, identifying resources, setting priorities, and developing plans and policies.

The assurance role includes making certain that the services necessary to achieve the agreed on goals are provided, directly or indirectly. This role also includes managing resources, implementing and evaluating programs, providing quality assurance, and communication of agreed goals and their statuses.

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MAYOR’S BLUE RIBBON TASK FORCE ON PUBLIC HEALTH

(26 committee members representing 11 organizations):

AGENDA:
TO ANALYZE "THE OVERALL FORM AND FUNCTION" OF THE CITY OF HARTFORD HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

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BLUE RIBBON TASK FORCE REPORT ON PUBLIC HEALTH

Executive Summary and Recommendations

Two further task force recommendations have impacted the manner in which the health department functions in relation to other health care organizations and to community members.

The first recommendation defines as a health department function the development of public/private collaborations in health care, "the health department must develop a new paradigm, a public/private partnership anchored by sound, new contemporary relationships between multiple entities that represent rich and diverse resources". The Hartford Community Health Partnership is the product of such a collaborative initiative.

The second recommendation defines the importance of community member input, "The report further recommends that the Department regularly elicit and make available to providers consumer input that will positively influence the elimination of the various barriers to care".

Building on the work of the Blue Ribbon Task Force, and looking to national trends for guidance, a group of leaders continued to meet over the next two years to determine how they could work together to establish a stronger public health system in Hartford.

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HARTFORD'S COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERSHIP

Charter Members

In 1996, this group formed the Hartford Community Health Partnership to implement the assessment recommendations of the task force report. Their specific charge was to examine the best methods to assess the city’s health status. This original Partnership was made up of representatives from the Hartford Health Department, Hartford Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Connecticut State Department of Public Health, the Hispanic Health Council, the Urban League and the United Way of the Capital Region. In 1997, this Partnership formally developed a Steering Committee, and several working task groups.