An “exhausted majority” is hungry for a country where everyone, not just a few, has the opportunity to thrive. Yet the quest for health equity has been stymied due to business-as-usual approaches and investments focused on getting quick results—which are often temporary, weak, and ineffective. To produce sustainable, lasting systemic change, we must think, act, and invest differently.
At the Rippel Foundation, we are part of a broad movement to build a future in which everyone can thrive. This effort focuses on two key frameworks: the Vital Conditions for Health and Well-Being and shared stewardship. The Vital Conditions are the characteristics of communities and institutions we all need to reach our full potential, and shared stewardship is a collaborative, power-sharing approach to improving health and well-being.
In Spring 2020, I was working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leading Community Mitigation as part of the Federal government COVID response. I was tasked to develop a plan that addressed the escalating behavioral and substance use crises. Like many others, I recognized the disparities on full display: high infection and mortality rates, exploding mental and behavioral health issues, and food and housing insecurity were a result of decades of failure to invest in the conditions that truly produce health, especially in communities of color. This meant we had to resist the muscle memory of throwing a band-aid on the crisis, be honest about what created it, and commit to doing things differently.
In my session, I will present examples of how the Vital Conditions framework and shared stewardship practices are being applied by organizations across the country, within health systems, and in regional contexts to shift conversations away from band-aid solutions to transformative system change strategies.. I will also demonstrate how The Rippel Foundation’s data simulation models can be used to understand how shifting investments further upstream can impact overall community well-being.
Across the country, we need to do more than call for increasing funding for new programs and more staff. We are missing opportunities to rethink what we currently do. If we want a different future, we need a different approach. The Vital Conditions framework and the principles of shared stewardship are critical tools to help decision-makers think and invest differently.
