Change Reflects New Responsibilities
OnFocus – Marshfield Clinic and Family Health Center of Marshfield, Inc. (FHC), recognized several decades ago that improving a community’s health meant more than patient-doctor visits, so the Center for Community Outreach (CCO) was created to address those needs.
CCO partnered with coalitions, businesses and other organizations to promote quality of life and reduce the incidence of lifestyle-related disease. Over time, CCO’s reach and responsibilities broadened and now, to better reflect this growth, its name has been changed to Center for Community Health Advancement (CCHA).
“We wanted our center’s name to be more action oriented and reflective of our purpose – communities, health and advancement,” said Jay Shrader, vice president, Community Health & Wellness, Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS). “MCHS’ community health focus has grown far beyond just the Clinic and now includes a comprehensive approach that includes Security Health Plan and Marshfield Medical Center hospitals.”
Moving forward, CCHA has identified three key community health priorities for the system as a result of extensive data analysis. This involved over 50 key informant interviews with local, regional and statewide partners and internal key stakeholders; interviews with MCHS subject matter experts; and review of current programs and initiatives.
“We call these our ABCs of Community Health: Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health and Chronic Disease Prevention,” Shrader said.
“Also, it made sense to bring these initiatives under the MCHS umbrella since our system’s mission is to enrich lives and the vision is to continue innovating and defining the future of health care. ‘Community’ is a strategic area of focus for MCHS and that’s exactly where this work is making a difference.”
CCHA is under the auspices of Community Health & Wellness, which also includes all community health and community benefit staff from throughout MCHS.
“CCHA,” Shrader said, “will continue to provide high quality evidence-based programs and services in partnership with our community partners across our large service area.”
Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS) is a $2.2 billion integrated health system serving Wisconsin with about 9,000 employees and over 1,200 providers comprising 86 specialties, health plan, and research and education programs. MCHS primary operations include Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield Medical Center, Marshfield Children’s Hospital, Lakeview Medical Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Security Health Plan and Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation.
