Population Health and Wellness

This follow-up brief updates the previous COVID-19 model and predicts when demand for hospital beds will first surpass capacity in each of the 21 New Jersey counties based on responses to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Executive summary // data (moderate) // data (strong) // graphic

Estimating when the peak need for hospital beds will occur, the number of available hospital beds in each county, and by how much the demand for hospital beds will exceed capacity in each county based on responses to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Executive summary // full data profile // technical data // graphic // county curves.

Following more than 18 months of data collection and analysis from two comprehensive community health needs assessments commissioned by five hospital networks in collaboration with health departments across five South Jersey counties, WRI researchers released a report detailing an important finding about health in South Jersey: residents’ physical and mental health are surprisingly strongly predicted by their connections to the people and places surrounding them.

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WRI partnered with several hospital systems in the region to research, facilitate and compile two Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA).

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This report examines the operations and efficacy of public health coalitions working to improve health in Southern New Jersey. It details alignment of goals, successes, and challenges of these coalitions relative to trends in key health indicators, and notes priorities for the region. The report draws from the County Health Rankings, community health assessments and interviews with key coalition leaders.

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The County Health Rankings are based on a model of population health that emphasizes the many factors that, if improved, can help make communities healthier places to live, learn, work and play. The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation uses this model to rank the health of New Jersey’s counties and of State’s across the country.

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The Secondary Counseling Education Program aims is to reduce suspensions and disruptive student behaviors, and to increase student proficiencies, through increased mental health services in the Camden School District. WRI provided process evaluation, assessing the implementation of the program. The evaluation tracked the opportunities, successes, obstacles, and concerns of program implementation through focus groups and interviews with teachers, students, parents and key personnel.

The Center for Family Services contracted WRI to evaluate its Living Proof Recovery Center from inception to three years out. The Living Proof Recovery Center aims to help people find, maintain and enhance their recovery from alcohol, drug, and other addictions through peer-driven support, sober recreation and educational opportunities. The Center intends to: 1) increase abstinence outcomes, 2) prevent lapses from becoming relapses, 3) reduce attrition in affiliation rates sobriety-based support groups, and 4) enhance recovery capital (e.g., employment, school enrollment, stable housing, healthy family and extended family involvement, sobriety-based hobbies, financial resources) and self-defined quality of life. Additionally, Living Proof provides specialized services for the deaf and hard of hearing community, as well as women with children.

WRI examined Center policies, practices, and operations, and identified challenges and ways the Center manages these challenges. The study found that the Center has a “sense of family” environment with staff, peer recovery coaches, and volunteers seen as approachable, friendly, and present for those in recovery. In particular, the peer recovery coaches are viewed as valuable resources, who often go above and beyond to meet the needs of those in recovery. WRI concludes that The Center is engaged in life changing work that is having a positive effect on the lives of members who regularly attend and avail themselves of Center services.

WRI evaluated the Food Bank of South Jersey’s (FBSJ) Healthy Living Initiative. The Initiative incorporates cooking courses for children, teens, adults, and families to increase healthy eating behaviors and cooking skills in South Jersey. WRI assessed the relevance, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of the courses and provided recommendations to help FBSJ effectively plan and implement future programming. Through focus groups with past participants and surveys of randomly sampled past participants, as well as a sample of non-participating families who are served by FBSJ, WRI examined the program’s impact on skills learned (healthy cooking, label reading, and mindful shopping), the retention of nutrition concepts, and healthy behaviors over time.

The Live Healthy Salem Coalition is a partnership of public, private, and nonprofit organizations focused on improving health outcomes for the residents of Salem County, NJ including the United Way of Salem County (lead agency) and 19 other organizations and agencies across the county. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, New Jersey Health Initiatives funded effort encourages communities to address health issues holistically. The Coalition’s mission is to inspire residents to live healthy, productive lives by enhancing opportunities that lead to a sustainable culture of wellness.

WRI worked as a neutral convener and facilitator, and provided technical and research assistance. WRI supported the Coalition in identifying gaps in service and regional duplications as they relate to the determinants of health outcomes and developing programs, policies and practices to address the identified gaps. The Coalition utilized data from United Way of Salem County’s Needs Assessment, conducted by WRI, the 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment funded by Inspira Health Network, and RWJF’s County Health Rankings – identifying three priority areas: 1) mental and behavioral health, 2) obesity and chronic diseases, and 3) substance abuse. The Coalition completed a Blueprint for Action, identifying programs, practices and policies to address these priorities.

In conjunction with Rutgers Law School in Camden, WRI completed a legal needs assessment of patients at the Cooper Rowan Clinic (CRC) and Camden Coalition of Healthcare providers (CCHP) Link2Care Initiative. WRI was contracted to determine the legal needs of patients at these locations, conducting focus groups and surveys with staff members at both sites as well surveys targeted at better understanding medical patients’ needs and research into national trends. Findings include:

• Patients at both locations had similar needs, which included assistance paying for medical bills, access to health care, and securing stable housing.

• Legal problems can impede a patient’s ability to follow medical directives, especially in vulnerable and disadvantaged regions.

• Camden City and neighboring areas would benefit from the development of a Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP), a national model of care backed by research and documented success. MLPs detect and address legal issues that impact the health and well-being of individuals.