Outreach

The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers works with residents of Camden to ensure that their healthcare needs are heard and met.  In addition to working directly with residents through many of our programs, the Coalition is working to build the capacity of residents to participate in healthcare decisions for the community.

Northgate II Narratives

In Summer 2010, we began an initiative in a public housing complex that has the highest healthcare costs in the city.  Northgate II Narratives began as an attempt to understand the human stories behind the healthcare costs recorded in the health database.    We met with residents of the building  to discuss their experiences with healthcare in Camden, then led guided exercises to allow residents to imagine optimal healthcare in Camden and the steps necessary to reach this goal.

We recorded some of these stories as a testament to the dysfunction of Camden’s expensive healthcare system and the need for systemic change.  We continue to work with these residents and Camden Churches Organized for People to ensure that residents play an active role in shaping Camden’s health landscape.

Building a Stakeholder Group

Community organizers associated with PICO, People in Communities Organizing, met in Camden in September 2010 as part of their campaign, “Bringing Healthcare Reform Home.” As part of the event, the Coalition hosted a teach-in to help organizers learn how to build a diverse stakeholder group around an issue. 

Using the Coalition’s experience with building a stakeholder group around healthcare issues, the Coalition staged an event that allowed small groups to meet with organizations from across the state that have endorsed the Coalition’s Accountable Care Demonstration Pilots campaign. Following this event, the Coalition and Camden Churches Organized for People hosted a church rally where local healthcare stakeholders pledged to work with residents to improve Camden’s healthcare and health outcomes.