NEW BRUNSWICK HEALTHY HOUSING COLLABORATIVE RECEIVES BUILD HEALTH CHALLENGE® AWARD TO CREATE SYSTEMS CHANGE TO IMPACT HEALTH AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

The New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative announced that it has been selected to receive the BUILD Health Challenge^® Award. The integrated partnership between New Brunswick Tomorrow, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, and the Middlesex County Office of Health Services is honored to have been selected as one of 18 communities across the nation to receive funding from BUILD for the 2019-2021 term.

The Collaborative will use lessons learned from the established Healthy Housing project in New Brunswick. Current home assessments and community outreach conducted by Community Health Ambassadors have sparked momentum with residents to address healthy housing challenges. The project will receive $250,000 in funding and additional resources to support the ongoing work to develop and drive policy changes that ensure healthier homes. The Collaborative will work with the City of New Brunswick to improve housing-related city ordinances to enable stable and healthy housing.

The BUILD Health Challenge is a unique national program focusing on bold, upstream, integrated, local, and data-driven projects. This award strengthens partnerships between local nonprofit organizations, hospitals and health systems, and local health departments to drive sustainable improvements in community health.

“For 45 years New Brunswick Tomorrow has fostered partnerships across the city to meet the needs of New Brunswick residents and improve quality of life. This award provides an additional opportunity to come together around one of the cities toughest challenges, housing. Together, we look forward to creating meaningful changes that empower families to build healthy homes and healthy communities,” stated Jaymie Santiago, president and CEO of New Brunswick Tomorrow.

“New Brunswick is focused on providing healthy-living opportunities and improving the lives of every one of our citizens. Local partnerships and community-based projects, such as the Healthy Housing initiative, have resulted in dynamic outreach networks providing health care and services directly into City neighborhoods,” stated New Brunswick Mayor James M. Cahill.

“We are proud to participate in the Build Health Challenge^® and appreciate the opportunity to strengthen existing partnerships and develop new partnerships to help reduce health disparities and create opportunities for improved community health,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, FACHE, president and CEO, Saint Peter’s Healthcare System.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick President and Chief Executive Officer John J. Gantner stated, “We are excited to be a part of the Build Health Challenge^®. By receiving this prestigious award, we will continue to work with our partners and address identified housing challenges to improve the health and well-being of the community.”

“As we continue to plan and engage with community stakeholders towards developing Middlesex County’s strategic plan, this Healthy Housing initiative will connect residents to resources and services to help them lead healthy, active, and prosperous lives. Through a shared commitment with community-based organizations, health care, government officials, residents, and other partners such as the New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative, we can shape how our county will grow and change in the future,” said Freeholder Director Ronald G. Rios.

“As the statewide grantmaking program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI) is an enthusiastic partner in the BUILD Health Challenge^®,” says Bob Atkins, director of NJHI. “With the New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative as one of two New Jersey-based BUILD projects, we welcome this opportunity to share New Jersey models on a national scale, while also bringing home promising practices from the other 16 BUILD communities across the country to ensure all New Jerseyans have the opportunity to live the healthiest lives possible.”

You can learn more about the Build Health Challenge^® by visiting http://www.buildhealthchallenge.org.

You can learn more about the New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative’s project by visiting https://buildhealthchallenge.org/communities/new-brunswick-health-housing-collaborative/.

Background Information

On November 19, 2019 the BUILD Health Challenge^® welcomed its Third Cohort of awardees, including 18 communities throughout the United States, that will receive a total of $8 million in funding and resources to transform health at the local level over the next two years.

These 18 communities are now part of a growing national network of communities leading the way in the creation of sustainable improvements in community health. To date, BUILD has supported the efforts of 55 collaboratives from across the country in 25 states.

Working on a wide range of issues, these communities will apply bold, upstream, integrated, local, and data-driven approaches grounded in health equity to tackle the root causes of some of today’s most pressing challenges. Issue areas include: food insecurity, elder community building, maternal and child support systems, community revitalization, housing, and more.

This cohort was chosen from more than 130 applicants looking to join this growing effort to move resources, action, and attention upstream. Each awardee group consists of a community-based organization that will lead the effort, a hospital, and the local public health department. The collaboratives that are selected generally demonstrate a history of collaboration among the partners, a strong level of engagement and leadership within the community, and the likelihood that the project would result in long-term, sustainable changes that have the potential to impact the health of residents.

The cohort is made possible with the generous support of: the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, de Beaumont Foundation, Episcopal Health Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., New Jersey Health Initiatives, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.



You can learn more about the Build Health Challenge^® by visiting http://www.buildhealthchallenge.org.

We are thrilled to have been selected for @ BUILD_Health Challenge’s Third Cohort! We are embarking on a two-plus-year endeavor to improve health in New Brunswick along with 17 other awardees across the US. Together with New Brunswick Tomorrow, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, and the Middlesex County Office of Health Services, we aim to create systems change to impact health at the local level. Learn how we’re driving sustainable improvements in community health here: http://bit.ly/BUILDHealth3

PARTNERING FOR MIDDLESEX’S HEALTH (2018)

The New Jersey Healthy Communities Network (NJHCN) brings together local, regional and statewide leaders to support communities in developing healthy environments for people to live, work, learn and play. NJHCN has over 100 Partners including grantees, funders, advocates, and communities of practice members such as organizations, individuals, local governments, and institutions.  Partners seek to have a collective impact on community well-being by being mutually engaged, mutually accountable and sharing responsibility for goal-oriented action.

The Raritan Valley YMCA and Healthier Middlesex are working together to promote evidence-based interventions and provide education and outreach on the importance of policy related to healthy food choices and increased access to Healthy Kids Camp programming in order to improve our community’s quality of life. Access to nutritious food, physical activity programming, and safety education are significant public health challenges to our community. Through this funding our partnership is developing policy and offering programs and resources that are invaluable to improving the health and well-being of the children in Middlesex County.

THE NEW BRUNSWICK HEALTHY HOUSING COLLABORATIVE (2017)

The BUILD Health Challenge is a national awards program designed to support community collaborations in urban neighborhoods experiencing health disparities that are working to give everyone a fair chance to be healthy. The objective of The BUILD Health Challenge is to increase the number and effectiveness of hospital, community, and public health collaborations that improve health, lower costs and promote health equity.



The New Brunswick Healthy Housing Collaborative harnesses the efforts of our partners: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Saint Peters University Hospital, the Middlesex County Office of Health Services, and others within the Healthier Middlesex networks to identify and implement solutions concerning healthy housing in New Brunswick. In particular focus is placed on two neighborhoods: Unity Square and Esperanza. The goal of the grant is to not only educate the community on healthy housing practices, but provide them with tools and resources to create long-term change.

BUILDING A CULTURE OF HEALTH IN THE CITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK: ENSURING EQUITABLE ACCESS FOR ALL RESIDENTS TO THE SYSTEMS AND CONDITIONS THAT PROMOTE GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING (2015)

Building a Culture of Health in New Brunswick is grounded in the vision of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Culture of Health initiative to address the challenge of improving health for all by placing well-being at the center of every aspect of life. Launched in 2014, the initiative explores the interdependence of social, economic, physical, and environmental factors, to generate collaborations across different sectors and disciplines that create healthier, more equitable communities.



With the support of RWJF, a diverse, multi-sector, community-focused coalition has worked together to undertake a planning process to develop a framework for collective action among the many partners. The objective of the planning process was to develop consensus around a set of systemic and sustainable strategies with the intent of inherently integrating health and wellness into the underlying fabric of the New Brunswick community.

HOSPITALS COLLABORATING TO ASSESS AND ADDRESS COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS (2011)

New Jersey Health Initiatives supports innovations and drives conversations to build healthier communities across the State of New Jersey. New Jersey Health Initiatives (NJHI) is the statewide grant making program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To meet the many health needs of New Jersey’s diverse populations, regions and communities, the NJHI program encourages collaboration across sectors to foster deep relationships committed to long-term change affording everyone the opportunity to live the healthiest life possible.



This was a collaborative grant between Saint Peter’s University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to conduct a joint Community Health Needs Assessment for their communities. Both hospitals leveraged their years of community outreach experience, which included cultivating contacts with numerous community-based agencies, faith-based organizations, senior citizen groups, and other organizations within their service areas to conduct the assessment, implement a plan, and communicate findings to the community. As a result of this process the Community Health Consortium for Central Jersey was created, which was re-branded as Healthier Middlesex in 2017.

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