Hartford Business Journal

20 Hartford Business Journal • April 9, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Opinion & Commentary OTHER VOICES Evidence of a stronger, better Hartford By Dr. Paul H. Dworkin I n his third State of the City address, Mayor Luke Bronin described Hartford as "better and stronger" and cited awards won and initiatives championed. While residents, public officials and pundits debate the extent to which "Hartford Has It," unprecedented collaboration among Hartford's com- munity-based organizations, anchor institutions, city government, resi- dents and com- munity activists is reason for hope. Cooperation in developing compelling grant applications to support new city initiatives is impressive evidence of a collective commitment to improve the health and well-being of all residents, includ- ing those most disadvantaged. New grant opportunities offer com- munities such as Hartford financial and technical support to engage all necessary sectors in comprehensive initiatives that promote health and well-being, with a special focus on the vulnerable and underserved. Hartford's capacity to submit several strong proposals is an encouraging indication of a newfound commitment to overcome silos and partner to serve the common good. I am encouraged to learn that one such application has just been accepted, which involves the Connecticut Office of Health Strategy — State Innovation Model selecting Hartford as a reference community for planning a new Health Enhancement Community (HEC). The HEC initiative is designed to foster com- munity-wide, multi-sector collaboration and accountability to promote commu- nity health improvement and equity. With facilitation from the North Hartford Triple Aim Collaborative (NHTAC), the city's Department of Health and Human Services submitted the proposal, demonstrating a broad array of partners willing and eager to work together and with the state. NHTAC members include the mayor's office, North Hartford Promise Zone, Community Solutions (a national leader in community-based services), Connecticut Children's Medical Cen- ter, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center/Trinity Health Of New England, University of Connecticut, Wellville (a national initiative to cultivate health at the community level), Connecticut Health Foundation and United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut. NHTAC's top three priority areas are increasing access to healthy and nutri- tious food, improving child and family well-being, and improving commu- nity safety. NHTAC is perhaps most noteworthy for its commitment to align multiple, broad-reaching health improvement efforts in Hartford. This is an impressive commitment among its members to work together to over- come silos and promote cross-sector collaboration. A second, recent reason for opti- mism is Hartford's strong response to a request for expression of interest from Project HOPE (Harnessing Op- portunity for Positive, Equitable Early Childhood Development). The HOPE consortium includes the Boston Medical Center Vital Village Network, the national BUILD Initia- tive, and Nemours Children's Health System and is supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. HOPE's stated aim is to work with communi- ties and states to reduce inequities by addressing early childhood adversity through systems alignment, policy and capacity-building strategies. Connecticut Children's Office for Community Child Health took the lead in developing a Hartford proposal in partnership with the Hartford Founda- tion for Public Giving, the aforemen- tioned NHTAC and its members, and others. We are eager to learn if this pro- posal will be accepted by Project HOPE. A great strength of Hartford is the diversity of its 17 unique neighborhoods. While acknowledging the profound importance of each neighborhood's his- tory, culture and distinct resources, local efforts are unlikely to have the necessary scale and impact to improve the overall health and well-being of all residents. Collaboration and partnerships are essential to success. Dr. Paul H. Dworkin is the executive vice president for Community Child Health at Connecticut Children's Medical Center. Dr. Paul H. Dworkin OTHER VOICES Federal spending bill includes big wins for New England By James T. Brett C ongress recently passed and President Trump signed into law a $1.3 trillion federal spending bill for fiscal year 2018. The bill, which funds the federal government through Sept. 30, 2018, includes some big wins for the New England region, particularly in the areas of health care and scientific research. New England is the proud home of some of the world's leading research hospitals and universities, which are develop- ing treatments for everything from cancer and heart disease to Alzheimer's and diabetes, just to name a few. Much of this critical work is sup- ported by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and so it is welcome news that the omnibus bill passed last week includes a $3 billion increase in NIH funding, bringing the total funding for this agency to $37 billion. This increase will have a signifi- cant impact in New England. In fiscal year 2017, New England received over $3.6 billion in NIH funding, which supported nearly 45,000 jobs and drove nearly $8.5 billion in economic activity. That includes over 6,000 jobs and over $1.2 billion in economic activity in Connecticut alone. An increase in NIH funding for fiscal 2018 will surely benefit our region, while also helping the institu- tions here continue their important work to treat diseases and save lives. NIH isn't the only area where research funding was increased in this spending bill. The legislation also includes a $300 million increase in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funds a wide range of scientific research, much of which is conducted at col- leges and universities. Many colleges and universi- ties throughout New England are recipients of such funding, and are conducting cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, including biological sciences, computer and information science, engineering and mathematics. In fiscal 2017, institutions in New England received a total of over $650 million in NSF funding, includ- ing over $68 million in Connecticut alone. The increase in NSF fund- ing, which brings the agency's total funding to $7.8 billion, will no doubt result in increased funding for the revolutionary research underway on campuses throughout New England. A third important area addressed by the spending bill is the opioid addiction crisis that continues to have a devastating impact across the country. New England of course has been particularly hard hit. According to the Centers for Dis- ease Control (CDC), there were nearly 4,500 drug overdose deaths in the region in 2016, including nearly 1,000 here in Connecticut. Fortunately, the spending bill includes some $4 billion for various efforts to combat the opi- oid epidemic. Included in that total is $500 million to the NIH for addiction research; $1 billion in new grants to states and tribes to support efforts to combat the epidemic; $130 million to help rural communities specifically; and a nearly $300 million increase in law enforcement grant funding to combat the crisis. Of course there are a variety of other elements of this bill that will benefit New England — including an increase in defense spending, boosts for apprenticeship programs and career and technical education, and funding to upgrade Amtrak's North- east Corridor, just to name a few. But the three provisions outlined above will certainly have a significant impact on the economy and quality of life in our region. It is important to note that this deal is the product of bipartisan compromise. There are a variety of other important issues before Congress in the near future, including gun control, immigration reform and infrastructure invest- ment, just to name a few. We are hopeful that this example of biparti- sanship is a sign of things to come. Our region and our nation de- serve it. James T. Brett is the president and CEO of The New England Council, a non-partisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions, and public and private organizations throughout New England formed to promote economic growth. James T. Brett

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