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- 5 - accessHealthNews.net November 2023 Volume 10 | Issue No. 78 To say that HealthTeamWorks is on the move is an understatement. Just recently, the 501c3 nonprofit received a $175,000 grant from Health Forward Foundation to build an advocacy coalition in Kansas City. Though its priorities aren't yet set, the coalition will work to optimize the use of local hospitals' community benefit funds to help area organizations support and address patients' health- related social needs in the Kansas City area. And earlier this summer, the nonprofit announced a leadership change, along with a merger with Iowa Chronic Care Consortium (ICCC) slated to complete by the year's end. HealthTeamWorks CEO Cecilia Saffold said their vision, mission, and strategies remain unchanged. "This transition represents an exciting move forward as unified nonprofit organizations offering a suite of aligned population health, community well-being and organization development services," Saffold said. "In this case, the whole is greater than its parts as HealthTeamWorks' approach to healthcare delivery redesign and ICC's expertise in Clinical Health Coach and Community Health Worker training round out the key components healthcare organizations need to deliver better patient care and succeed in alternative payment models." A look back HealthTeamWorks began in 1996 as the Colorado Clinical Guidelines Collaborative. The organization developed clinical guidelines to help primary care providers improve quality and equity of care delivered in their practices. Shortly after the group's inception, leaders realized that guidelines are important, but couldn't be implemented by practices without strategic direction, change management, and targeted training. The organization shifted to provide facilitation and workforce development for clinical practices under the auspices of HealthTeamWorks. ICCC was created in 2002 and today trains clinical health coaches and community health workers to bring personalized health improvement strategies to people where they live, focusing on communities and rural areas where there is often a drastic lack of access, in part due to health professional shortages. The organizations share a dedication to increasing health equity and access through empowering and training members of the healthcare and public health workforces. They have worked together for years, partnering to build population health solutions to meet the holistic needs of patients. Then, last fall, HealthTeamWorks and ICCC began the process of becoming a cohesive team with one mission: to strengthen communities by creating culturally responsive, high-quality healthcare via performance improvement, organizational development, and training. Saffold's Leadership READ MORE "This transition represents an exciting move forward as unified nonprofit organizations offering a suite of aligned population health, community well- being and organization development services," - Cecilia Saffold HealthTeamWorks CEO