In Pursuit of Total Health: Meeting Social Health Needs

Historically, healthcare has been about physical health. A person’s physical health – absence of disease and good blood pressure, muscle tone, weight, etc. has been a measure of well-being. However, those of us in healthcare have also seen that a person’s physical health is just one piece of a larger puzzle that leads to well-being.

Good health is intrinsically a product of our everyday lives, not just the time we spend at the doctor’s office. Our ability to stay healthy depends on many factors that on their face have little to do with physical health. These other factors in our lives – what we eat, where we live, our jobs – are all part of social health and they have a tremendous impact on whether we are truly well.

Safe, stable housing, one of the most important social health needs, can be a struggle for some and taken for granted by others. A stable home, one that offers a roof to sleep under every night, a safe place to keep our possessions and care for our bodies and minds, is a basic necessity for all of us. Without permanent, safe housing, it becomes nearly impossible for a person to take care of basic health needs, not to mention chronic health conditions. People worried about the safety or stability of their housing situation can also experience higher levels of stress. All this contributes to higher death rates among homeless populations compared with those in the general population.

Other social health needs include access to reliable, affordable transportation, which influences our ability to hold down jobs and travel to medical appointments or a grocery store; as well as access to fresh, nutritious foods in our neighborhood.

These social determinants of health are largely tied to the health disparities that Black and Brown people experience in our country. Black residents in Washington, D.C. are three times more likely to be obese and seven times more likely to have diabetes than white residents. It’s no coincidence that Black D.C. residents have lower incomes on average than white residents, and that predominantly Black communities like Ward 7 and Ward 8 are characterized as food deserts, which means that residents do not have access to healthy, fresh food.

COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated how many of the aspects of social health are exacerbated during a pandemic and an economic downturn such as we are experiencing today. So many of our communities that are hardest hit by COVID-19 are also facing significant challenges related to housing, food access and other social needs.

What if addressing social needs became part of health care? What if our care teams could help patients address social needs that are standing in the way of total health? What if, as health care professionals, we took social needs into greater account, to improve the total health of our community and our patients?

Earlier this year, Kaiser Permanente announced a partnership with an organization called Unite Us to launch a new social health network in the Northwest Region, where I previously served as president. The comprehensive network of community organizations, health care providers and public agencies allows easier access to these vital services for the community and those in need. Our goal was to connect community members to resources that meet their social health needs so they can thrive.

Our network is part resource directory, enabling patients to connect with care providers and services that can best help them, including assistance with finding housing, food aid and transportation resources. Since we launched in June, we’re pleased to report that more than 130 community organizations, health care providers and public agencies have joined our second network, the Mid-Atlantic Community Network here in DC and suburban Maryland, and that we’ve made more than 125 referrals to services.

This vital network will expand to Baltimore this fall and to Northern Virginia early next year. While this project was underway before we were hit with COVID-19, the pandemic has amplified the vital need to bring together and coordinate services that address social health.

I firmly believe that meeting the social needs of our residents will allow all community members to experience better health. As we work to build the Mid-Atlantic Community Network into a robust resource, I’m thankful to all our partners — Unite Us, United Way of National Capital Region, Nonprofit Montgomery, Montgomery County Food Council and Prince George’s County Veterans Department to name a few — that share our commitment to improving the health of our communities. We must continue to find ways to support social health in all our communities and for everyone so that we all can thrive.

If you would like to learn more about joining or connecting with the Mid-Atlantic Community Network, I encourage you to visit the UniteUs pages for the DC and Baltimore areas where you can register to join the network or receive more information.