Over 200 from Health Care and Community Development Sectors Explore Collaborations for Investment in NJ

8/1/2018

The 2018 Healthy Homes and Communities Summit featured a panel focused on increasing collaboration between healthcare institutions and housing and community development organizations in New Jersey. Pictured from left to right: Florence Kariuki, MHA, RN, Clinical Design Lead, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ; Victoria Brogan, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, New Jersey Hospital Association; Suzanne Ghee, Assistant VP, Strategic Business Growth & Community Health Engagement, Virtua Health, Inc.; Ronice Bruce, SouthWard Newark Health Initiative; and Michellene Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, RWJBarnabas Health.

The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (the Network) hosted its third annual Healthy Communities and Homes Summit this week. The gathering drew over 200 members of the health care and community development sectors to examine successful partnerships across the state and country as well as how stakeholders can improve the health of residents and neighborhoods.

“Our homes are the core of our daily lives, most people spend the majority of their time indoors with the largest chunk of that time spent in the home,” said Staci Berger, president and chief executive officer of the Network. “The health care industry is realizing that poor quality, inadequate housing is a major contributor to costly health problems. They’re collaborating with the community development sector to create healthier places in communities impacted by deep and entrenched poverty.”

The event featured a keynote delivered by Nationwide Children’s Hospital Community Relations Director Angela Mingo. Based in Columbus, Ohio, the hospital has partnered with a local community development organization to revitalize the South Side of Columbus by eliminating blight and creating affordable homes. Renowned speakers and policy experts joined Mingo to discuss how these types of collaborations can be mutually beneficial and how they can increase in NJ.

Partnerships between health providers and community developers are underway in the state. Network member Triple C Housing registered nurses have partnered with RWJ Barnabas Health to triage health services to residents of Promise House, a New Brunswick development with ten supportive housing apartments for individuals with special needs who are at risk of experiencing homelessness.

“Our work is just one example of the innovative ways that community developers – from all parts of our sector – are working to improve the health of residents and the places they live,” said Leslie Stivale, Network Board of Directors Vice President and Triple C Housing President & CEO. “Events like this help foster relationships that break down the silos keeping us from reaching our collective goal: the opportunity for each and every person to live their life to the fullest in a healthy home and healthy community.”

Featured speakers joining Mingo, Stivale, and Berger included Charles A. Richman, Executive Director, NJ Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency; Donald F. Schwarz, senior vice president, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Michellene Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, RWJBarnabas Health; Victoria Brogan, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, New Jersey Hospital Association. Sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, RWJ Barnabas, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute and the Community Foundation of South Jersey, the Healthy Communities and Homes Summit was held at the Trenton War Memorial on Wednesday, August 1.

For more information on the Healthy Communities and Homes Summit, visit
www.hcdnnj.org/healthycommunitieshomessummit.

About the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ
The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey is the statewide association of more than 250 community development corporations, individuals and other organizations that support the creation of affordable homes, economic opportunities, and strong communities. For more information on the Network, visit www.hcdnnj.org.

For more information: Nina Rainiero
(609) 393-3752 x1200
(609) 789-7900
Website: hcdnnj.org
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