Speakers:

Jenn Meier, MPH – Research and Evaluation Associate – Episcopal Health Foundation

Craig Rotter, PHD – Executive Director – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

The objective of this session is to share Episcopal Health Foundation’s investment approach to achieve optimal health in rural Texas through an innovative cross-sectoral model known as Community Health Resource Centers (CHRCS). CHRCs bring together multiple sectors within rural communities to address health inequities and social determinants of health such as transportation, housing, and food insecurity. While CHRCs are not a novel concept, this effort helped to identify readiness levels and challenges that arise from initiating this type of collaborative community effort. The three grantees selected for this opportunity are representative of the various pathways for community-based organizations to work together to achieve a common goal. One grantee generated interest in a CHRC through a county-wide backbone grassroots organization; another established their CHRC through the local hospital district after their hospital closed; and the third began as a joint effort among local congregations to improve the health of their community.

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