COVID-19 delays, but doesn't stop Albert Lea, Minnesota, from replacing lost hospital services

Victims of violence found in hospitals are more likely to return for emergency care than those with chronic illnesses. As a result, communities like Cleveland, Ohio are trying the approach of treating violence as a public health issue. By employing social workers and peer mentors for the victims while being treated, it is hoped that the cycle of violence can be interrupted and the root cause addressed.

In 2017, residents of Kabuga Aisami in Kano built their own maternal and child health hospital to address maternal mortality rates and improve access to care. Led by the Kabuga Aisami Community Initiative (KACI), community members pooled resources to construct the facility, which includes two labor rooms, three wards with 40 beds, four laboratories, a pharmacy, 25 toilets, and three self-contained flats for doctors to enable 24-hour care. Patient volume has since increased by over 250%, and the hospital has expanded to serve 10 surrounding communities, as well.

In collaboration with Intuitive Health, UF Health has opened three centers that offer both ER and urgent care 24/7, at the same facility so patients don’t have to decide themselves which care they need. Instead, doctors at the center make that decision and then the system bills the patient accordingly. This helps them avoid taking on expensive ER bills when that level of care may not have been necessary.

Rural hospitals throughout the midwest are struggling to stay open, but in Iowa, small successes have been found through partnerships and resourcefulness. From converting the OB-GYN department to an department that provides mental health help to senior citizens to leasing space to larger hospitals for specialty practices, rural hospitals are finding creative ways to keep their doors open.

Enrolling local agents allows global partners to connect underserved and remote communities to healthcare. A partnership between Rwanda’s Health Ministry and the Boston-based nonprofit, Partners in Health, trains community-based health workers to communicate and connect people on the ground to health services across the country. Rwanda has also implemented reforms and services such as government-subsided healthcare, which has helped improve the life expectancy of its citizens.

The United States now has a variety of federally-supported nutrition programs, but the health care system remains disconnected from the social determinants of health. Many doctors simply lack the resources to provide the comprehensive care proven to have greater impact on health than strictly medical treatment. A group called Health Leads is training young volunteers to treat the social factors, like poor nutrition and housing needs.

Dr. Brent James, chief quality officer at Intermountain Healthcare, came up with a system for regulating and improving healthcare in the Intermountain medical region and at other hospitals nationwide. He teaches a program called the Advanced Training Program that draws physicians and hospital administrators from all over the country. His method is simple; his team develops best care standards for an array of common medical ailments by regulating the care that is suggested to doctors, monitoring patient outcomes based on these practices, and refining the literature to be even more accurate.

The University of Benin Teaching Hospital implemented an Electronic Medical Records system in 2011 that has now been deployed across more than 75% of its services. The system digitally links all hospital departments, including registration, clinics, laboratories and pharmacies, allowing patient information to flow electronically rather than through physical file transfers, preventing medical records from being lost or misfiled as they were in the paper-based system.

The Bossier Term Limits Coalition formed to prevent their local government from being filled with entrenched politicians by gathering signatures to put term limits on the ballot. Despite obstacles in legitimizing their petition in the eyes of the court, the group’s measure eventually passed with more than 80% of the vote.

The Chithari River Restoration Project (CRRP) is reviving local aquaculture, biodiversity, and wildlife in Kerala, India. Supported by local community organizing and resources from government-backed Agro Service Centers, the project established a biodiversity management committee responsible for removing invasive species and reinforcing riverbeds with native plants and fertilizers. In its first year, 70% of the planted vegetation has taken root, earning praise from state government facilitators. Kerala is the first state in India to establish biodiversity committees across all 1,200 of its local bodies.