Bridging the Gap between Community-based Health Promotion Strategies and the Health Care System: A Promising Model from Oregon

While it is widely recognized that upstream factors far outweigh the influence of health care on long-term health outcomes, there are relatively few examples from across the country where health care systems are, by design, moving beyond the clinic walls to work with community and public health partners to address the social determinants of health and health disparities. One bright spot can be found in Oregon, where an innovative Medicaid health system transformation model is showing early signs of success in bridging the gap between the community and the health care system. One key component of Oregon’s new coordinated care organizations (CCOs) are community advisory councils (CACs)—comprised of Medicaid members and representatives from community-based and public health organizations—which provide strategic guidance to help CCOs meet their communities’ health needs and move upstream to improve population health. This presentation will provide examples from across Oregon of how CCOs are adopting community-based health promotion strategies, addressing the social determinants of health, and improving health equity as a result of their CACs’ leadership. Key factors that have led to CACs’ initial successes in bridging the gap between community-based and health care systems, as well as the methods for replicating the CAC model outside Oregon, will be also discussed.