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As academic health centers become increasingly aware of their leadership role in improving the health of the public, many are considering community-oriented primary care (COPC) as a possible framework for their health care programs.1-3 A COPC approach directs health care initiatives to a defined community by identifying health care needs within that community and responding to those needs through interventions and the evaluation of health outcomes. One such academically based program, the Center for Healthy Communities in Dayton, Ohio, has taken COPC a step further by forming a health service partnership with the community it serves. In this partnership, academicians and community members work together to actively promote the health of the community by encouraging individuals to take an active role in their health and by educating health professions students in new ways. Established in 1991 as Partners for Community Health Development, the partnership was formally organized as the Center for Healthy Communities in 1994. The center, which includes the Dayton community and the health professions schools of Wright State University and Sinclair Community College, was initially developed by the leadership of the health professions schools, including the deans and associate deans of both schools as well as the provost and president of Wright State University. Community leaders were identified early in the program planning process through discussion and networking.
The hallmark of the center is its model for change in health care delivery, which departs from the present illness-care-focused system to one that emphasizes community-oriented primary health care and wellness (Figure 1). The change agents in this new system are members of the community and academe, and the proposed outcomes are enhanced education on the part of both health professionals and patients, and better health care service delivery. The strength of the model rests on the ability of participants to effect long-term change at several levels-community, health care provision, health professions education, and health policy.
Since its inception, the center has captured the attention of the governor and state and federal legislators. It is viewed as an innovator in health care partnerships through community participation. The center has a diversified funding portfolio with funds from both external and institutional sources (federal, state, foundation, private, and university).
About the community
Dayton, Ohio, is a midsized...