Hartford Business Journal

2 Hartford Business Journal • December 9, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com As a leader in the health care industry in the greater Hartford region, Saint Francis is committed to the communities we serve. Four years ago Saint Francis became a member of Trinity Health, one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation. Our organizations share the same core values and commitment to the communities we serve. Nationally, Trinity Health commits nearly $75 million annually to help local communities address some of the disparities that exist in health care, especially regarding the social inuences of health. Together, Saint Francis Hospital and Trinity Health Of New England has a deep understanding of the disheartening truth that there is limited access to quality health care in the communities where we live and work. We also know that when an individual is facing daily challenges related to income, unstable housing, unsafe neighborhoods, or substandard education, it can cause a signicant difference in the health of that individual. These social inuences of health can create detrimental barriers to individuals in need of services across the spectrum of care. Saint Francis is constantly seeking ways to raise the bar by serving our communities with the same passion and diligence as we serve our patients. We take great pride in this work, much of which is put into action by our colleagues in the Curtis D. Robinson Center for Health Equity. On a daily basis, the center advances health equity in the communities we serve through engagement, research, education and advocacy. Thanks to a partnership between the center and the national organization Tobacco Free Kids, the center played a critical role in a momentous day for the City of Hartford, which became the rst municipality in the state to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old. Keeping disease prevention and education at the forefront of our community outreach efforts, Saint Francis, along with the other four hospitals within the Trinity Health Of New England organization, launched the New England 61 Day Challenge™, a health and wellness initiative aimed at creating new healthy habits. In its inaugural year, the New England 61 Day Challenge ™ gained more than 3,000 participants region-wide. Now, in its second year running and the 61 Day Challenge is on pace to far surpass that number. The 61 Day Challenge is a means to inspire colleagues and community members to improve their long-term health. The 2019 challenge asks participants to Step Up, by increasing your daily physical activity, to Eat Up, by choosing more nutrient-rich food, and to Drink Up, by taking in more water. The challenge runs November 1 to December 31 as a way to encourage individuals to kick-start healthy habits before the New Year. Throughout the challenge, Trinity Health Of New England provides free educational sessions and daily and weekly email tips on how participants can best navigate and customize their journey to better health. Disease prevention is the focus of so many of our initiatives going on throughout the year, including our annual PinkLink event. Held each October, PinkLink is a full-day of free breast cancer screenings offered at Karl J. Krapek Sr., Comprehensive Women's Health Center at Saint Francis, Johnson Memorial Hospital, and Radiology Associates of Hartford. The free mammograms are provided to women who are uninsured or underinsured. This allows dozens of women in the greater Hartford region who would not otherwise have access to such testing to receive this potentially lifesaving step, as well as access to the state- of-the-art 3-D digital mammography and same-day results promised to every patient at our Comprehensive Women's Health Center. We have great pride in our valuable work done each day to improve the health of our local communities. With that comes an immense amount of appreciation for the support of our donors, community and corporate partners, and philanthropists who support our mission to serve the vulnerable and underserved. We are consistently inspired by those who continue to stand hand-in-hand with Saint Francis in our efforts to reverse the realities of health inequalities. John Rodis, M.D. President Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Value in Health Care Improving Community Health stfranciscare.org

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