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Participants meet at Schloss Leopoldskron for start of five-day program
Health happens where we live, learn, work, play, and pray. That’s just one of the thoughts participants considered on the first day of the Salzburg Global Seminar session, Building Healthy Communities: The Role of Hospitals.
Around 60 participants from 16 countries met at Schloss Leopoldskron, in Salzburg, Austria, on Thursday afternoon for the start of the five-day program, which is being held in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Over the next few days, participants will look at developing strategies to enhance effective collaboration and information-sharing between hospitals, social services and community organizations. They will also consider new approaches for hospitals to address the social determinants of health.
This session is part of Salzburg Global’s multi-year series Health and Health Care Innovation in the 21st Century.
John Lotherington, a program director for Salzburg Global, and Hilary Heishman, a senior program officer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, kickstarted the session by taking part in an on-stage discussion.
Beginning the conversation, Heishman suggested health care in the United States was effective at treating people with illness but was less effective at keeping people healthy.
Things that contribute to being healthy in the long-term start early in life, participants heard. Heishman said several factors which enable people to be healthy don’t sound health-related. Education, work, housing, and civic engagement were some of the examples highlighted which can have an effect.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, established in 1972, is committed to building a culture of health. Heishman said, “Within a culture of health, everyone has the opportunity to live the best life they can.”
While there are several obstacles to developing this culture, there are also opportunities to help make it more of a reality. This includes new work with data, information, and alternate payment models. As more people in health care understand the social determinants of health, it might become easier to set up appropriate systems.
In response to this discussion, participants considered the definition of health and what society’s expectations of hospitals were. One participant suggested if a hospital’s role was to change, consumer fears would have to be allayed along the way.
These talking points, and more, will continue to be discussed in the days ahead, as the session continues.
The session, Building Healthy Communities: The Role of Hospitals is part of Salzburg Global Seminar multi-year series Health and Health Care Innovation in the 21st Century. This year’s session is held in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To keep up to date with the conversations taking place during the session, follow #SGShealth on Twitter and Instagram.