Imperial, California - Following a very competitive process, the Imperial County Public Health Department was selected on behalf of their Accountable Community for Health (ACH) initiative to receive up to $850,000 in funding over three years to implement an innovative community-wide effort to improve health outcomes in Imperial County. Funded by the California Accountable Communities for Health Initiative (CACHI), the ACH initiative will bring together key partners to collectively address health issues related to asthma.

“This award will help us bring together key partners from our community and align activities to more effectively address asthma,” said Dr. Afshan Baig, Medical Director for Clinicas de Salud del Pueblo and Chair of the Local Health Authority Commission.  “Working collaboratively, we hope to create meaningful and lasting change in Imperial County.”

In an effort to create a community that promotes the health and well-being of its citizens, the Imperial County Public Health Department, along with the Imperial County Local Health Authority Commission, local hospitals, community clinics, private providers, Medi-Cal health plans, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions, will integrate and align health care delivery system transformation with community-based resources and social services.  Imperial County’s ACH will focus on asthma management in children with the greatest burden of asthma.  The ACH will promote quality standards of care to be used across childhood asthma programs and collect data that will help to sustain asthma programs.

An ACH is a partnership between health systems, health care providers, health plans, public health departments, key community and social services organizations, schools, and other partners serving a specific geographic area. An ACH takes responsibility for improving the health of the community, with particular attention to achieving greater health equity among its residents.

CACHI was established by The California Endowment, Blue Shield of California Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and Sierra Health Foundation to advance innovative health models to improve population health and reduce health disparities. CACHI is being supported by Community Partners, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that helps foster, launch, and grow creative solutions to community challenges.

For additional information on the Imperial County Local Health Authority Commission, contact Christina Olson, Health Program Coordinator, at (442) 265-1444.