BUILD Health Challenge Generates Nationwide Interest From Hospitals, Health Systems, Health Departments, And Community-Based Nonprofits

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 300 city-based partnerships from 41 states submitted applications for the inaugural round of grants from the BUILD Health Challenge.  Each submission included at least three partners from a low-income urban neighborhood: a hospital or health system, a local health department, and a community-based nonprofit.

The BUILD Health Challenge is a national grant program funded by The Advisory Board Company, the de Beaumont Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Colorado Health Foundation.  The program is intended to address the upstream causes of health (factors like socioeconomic status, environmental factors, opportunities to choose nutritional food and fitness) that play an important role in shaping the health outcomes of individuals and communities.  Up to 17 BUILD Health applicants will be selected to receive funds, technical assistance, and low-interest loans.

The applicant pool demonstrates broad national appeal, with significant representation from all regions of the United States.  The top four states from which applications were submitted were California (58 applications), New York (25), Illinois (21), and Texas (18).  The applications revealed a diverse understanding of what it means to address the upstream causes of health, highlighting issues as varied as stress remediation, food system assessments, immunization programs, housing, education, and more. 

BUILD Health offers two kinds of grants: a planning award and an implementation award.  The planning award is for community partnerships in the early stages of developing a collaborative health intervention and will provide financial and technical support for 12 months, after which time they may apply for an implementation award.  The implementation award recognizes well-developed partnerships and will provide financial and technical support for two years.  BUILD Health received 232 applications for planning awards and 87 applications for implementation awards.

The 319 applications will be reviewed by a 32-person committee.  The committee's membership will draw from each of the funders and partner organizations, including The Practical Playbook, the Housing Partnership Network, the Prevention Institute, and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Up to 40 semifinalists chosen by the committee will be invited to proceed to the second round of review by February 20, 2015.  The BUILD Health Challenge has assembled a panel of experts to review the semifinalist proposals and select up to 17 communities as grantees.

The Expert Panel will include, among others:

• John Auerbach, MBA. Associate Director for Policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
• Kevin Barnett, DrPH, MCP. Senior Investigator, Public Health Institute; Co-Director, California Health Workforce Alliance;
• Debbie Chang, MPH. Enterprise Vice President, Policy and Prevention, Nemours Children's Health System;
• Larry Cohen, MSW. Executive Director, Prevention Institute;
• Phillip Gonzalez, MPP. Program Director, Community Catalyst;
• Sarah R. Linde, MD, RADM. Chief Public Health Officer for the Health Resources and Services Administration;
• Lloyd Michener, MD. Professor and Chair, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine;
• Rebecca Regan, MBA. Executive Vice President, Capital Market Companies, Housing Partnership Network; and
• Julie Trocchio, RN, MS. Senior Director of Community Benefit and Continuing Care, Catholic Health Association of the United States.

The BUILD Health awardees will be recognized at a public event in Washington, DC on June 9, 2015. For more information, please visit www.buildhealthchallenge.org.

The Advisory Board Company is the leading provider of technology, research, and services for the health care and higher education industries.  Through its innovative membership model, the company collaborates with more than 200,000 leaders at 4,500 member organizations to elevate performance and solve their most pressing problems.  The company provides strategic guidance, actionable insights, web-based software solutions, and comprehensive implementation and management services.  For more information, visit www.advisory.com.

Since 1998, the de Beaumont Foundation has worked to transform the practice of public health in the United States.  Founded by Pierre S. de Beaumont, the Foundation primarily supports practice-based projects that provide training and education to the public health workforce; build public health infrastructure; and improve information and data management through innovative technology.  For more information, visit www.debeaumont.org.

The Kresge Foundation is a $3 billion private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America's cities through grantmaking and investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development efforts in Detroit.  In 2013, the Board of Trustees approved 316 awards totaling $122 million; $128 million was paid out to grantees over the course of the year.  In addition, our Social Investment Practice made commitments totaling $16 million in 2013.  For more information, visit kresge.org.

For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve the health and health care of all Americans.  We are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all Americans to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come.  For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

The Colorado Health Foundation works to make Colorado the healthiest state in the nation by ensuring that all Colorado kids are fit and healthy and that all Coloradans achieve stable, affordable and adequate health coverage to improve their health with support from a network of primary health care and community services. To advance our mission, the Foundation engages the community through grantmaking, public policy, investing in evaluation, private sector partnerships and strategic communications. For more information, visit www.ColoradoHealth.org.

SOURCE The Advisory Board Company

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