Lawrence & Memorial Hospital - Office of Community Health, Outreach & Partnerships

What is it?

Established in 2000, Community Health, Outreach + Partnerships provides various programs that bring together many stakeholders to seek collaborative means by which to promote health among southeastern Connecticut residents. Core programs include:

• The Faith in Action Network – bringing resources to New London County faith communities for health programming
• The Get Healthy Challenge – an evidence-based program to promote increased physical activity using pedometers and a team approach
• Healthy New London – responds to residents’ concerns and builds on residents’ ideas about how to make their city healthier. Projects include a downtown health trail, and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention/Teen Health program. Many organizations collaborate in Healthy New London.
• Safe Kids New London County – a collaborative effort of law enforcement, health professionals, businesses, community groups, educators and concerned citizens who work to reduce the incidence of preventable injuries among children ages 14 and under. Safe Kids coordinates programs in the areas of child passenger safety, bicycle and pedestrian safety, animal bite prevention, water and ice safety, and fire and home safety.

Additional initiatives are:

• Eat Smart, Grow Healthy, which seeks to improve nutrition and physical activity among children, in particular focusing on socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
• HELP Kids pediatric weight management program, an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach to engaging children in positive, entertaining ways by addressing the complex components of obesity, including poor nutrition, lack of exercise, and psychological factors such as low self-esteem. The program underscores the necessity of educating family members and enlisting their support and participation.
• Contribution to the growth and success of the Hispanic Alliance of Southeastern Connecticut, which seeks to enhance the contributions of the ever-growing Latino community in our region.
• The Breast Health Task Force in which Lawrence + Memorial is a guiding force. The annual art show In the Pink has evolved into a community-wide event, with municipal leaders from 11 communities partnering in outreach efforts through local town halls and libraries.
• School district wellness committees to improve the nutrition and physical activity as well as overall wellness environments in area schools.
• The New London County Health Collaborative, which unites the medical, social service, and public health communities to jointly examine and address the health status concerns in New London County.

Who is it for?

Residents of southeastern Connecticut.

Why do they do it?

L&M’s approach to community work comes from the recognition that by collaborating with partners, its impact on the health of the region is much greater than if carried out alone. L&M’s initiatives are based on identified community needs and programs that are proven to be effective in meeting those needs. For example, work to improve physical activity and nutrition is based on local data that indicate increasing overweight and obesity among even the youngest of children. The region falls below the state in the percent of 4th-grade students passing physical fitness tests. A second example is that teen pregnancy prevention efforts target the births to teens rate in one community that exceeds the state rate. Rapidly changing racial and ethnic diversity and persistent poverty in the region have led to other specific strategies to address community needs.

Impact

Thousands of southeastern Connecticut residents are impacted annually by the various programs and services coordinated by L+M Community Health, Outreach + Partnerships. Each initiative responds to an identified community need and furthers the mission of Lawrence + Memorial to “improve the health of the region.”

Contact: Laurel Holmes
Director, Office of Community Health, Outreach + Partnerships
Telephone: 860-442-0733
E-mail: lholmes@lmhosp.org