We Own the Health of Our Community

Greater Glendale’s Collective Impact Initiative

Glendale area leaders are invited to participate in the We Own the Health of Our Community charter signing ceremony for community-wide engagement to improve health for Glendale area residents and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The event will be held on April 6, 2017, at 5:30 p.m., beginning with a healthy Tapas Reception, at the Alex Theatre.
Establishing a Collective Impact Initiative: Glendale’s Collective Impact Initiative is helping us come together as a community to accomplish what individual organizations can’t achieve by themselves. In doing so, we are forming a broad-based collaborative. For the Glendale area, this means working together to address the growing health risks that face our community. To support the effort, Glendale Healthier Community Coalition (Coalition) members have received several major grants to address chronic disease related to diabetes risk in the greater Glendale community. Preliminary findings confirm our fears. Among 1500 people screened, about 50% show risk for diabetes and over 20% are at risk for cardiovascular disease. This is cause for significant concern, because diabetes is frequently interrelated with heart disease and cancer.
What happens at the Charter Signing Event: Community leaders will celebrate establishing and participating in the Collective Impact Initiative and, specifically, review community-wide plans for coordinating efforts to address diabetes health risk. Through this Initiative, the community is collaborating on a creative cross-sector approach that engages the broader Glendale community in working together to accelerate health-status improvement. At the event, we will:
• Conduct the Charter-signing ceremony for We Own the Health of Our Community
• Hear a thought-provoking discussion of plans to locally improve health and reduce healthcare cost
• Explore next steps in a first-ever local strategy that engages and coordinates community-wide efforts
• Find out how some local organizations are developing models that can be widely adopted
Benefits to us, our families, employees, and the future of Glendale: This is our community. We live, work, and play here, and collectively, we can make Glendale a healthy community. Glendale’s Collective Impact Initiative is helping us coordinate our efforts. The result is a healthier future for all of us. Together, we are demonstrating what a community that works together can do.
Leadership and Endorsements: City Manager, Scott Ochoa, will preside over the Charter signing ceremony, assisted by Tom Lorenz, City Public Information Officer. The project is endorsed by Congressman Adam Schiff, Senator Anthony Portantino, Assembly member Laura Friedman, and the Glendale City Council. It is also supported by the leadership of Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale Memorial Hospital and Healthcare Center, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, Glendale Unified School district, Glendale Chamber of Commerce, and the Glendale Healthier Community Coalition.
Working together to promote community health is a Glendale tradition.
On behalf of the planning committee, we thank you for your careful consideration.
Advisory Board:
Edna Karinski, CEO, Community Foundation of the Verdugos – Co-Chair
Lisa Raggio, Executive Director, Wellness Works – Co-Chair
Irene Bourdon, President, The Healthcare Foundation at GAMC
Lynda Burlison Health Services Coordinator, Glendale Unified School District (Retired)
Judee Kendall, CEO, Chamber of Commerce
Elissa Glickman, CEO, Glendale Arts
Sirvard Khanoyan, MD, Co-Director Family Practice Residency Program
Kelly Marroquin, Interim Director, Marketing & Communication, Glendale Adventist Medical Center
Denise Miller, Director, Live Well Senior Center, Glendale Adventist Medical Center
Bruce Nelson, Administrative Director of Community Services, Glendale Adventist Medical Center
Christine Powers, City of Glendale
Gilbert Pedroza, Glendale Fire Department
Cassie McCarty, Director of Mission Integration & Spiritual Care, Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center
George Saikali, CEO, Glendale YMCA
Deborah Weirick, Special Projects Manager, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital
Kerry Nelson, Project Director, We Own the Health of Our Community