Southcoast Health is proud to announce its Southcoast CARES program, part of the newly rebranded Community Health and Wellness department formerly known as Community Benefits. This title change reflects the department’s expanded focus on Southcoast CARES initiatives, which work to improve health equity and health status across the entire South Coast region. The Community Health and Wellness department also includes Community Relations, Data Analysis and Reporting.

“Socioeconomic indicators such as income, education, race and zip code are major factors that directly influence health outcomes and are often the best predictors of health status and health equity,” says Rachel Davis, Director of Community Health and Wellness at Southcoast Health. “We are proud to strengthen our community outreach efforts with this comprehensive redesign of the program, and we thank our dedicated staff and community partners for their continued support addressing these challenges in our community.”

Southcoast CARES initiatives exemplify the health system’s commitment to community outreach, beyond clinical care, to best serve and support all residents of the region. The program is composed of three strategic areas—Community Wellness Initiatives, Community Engagement and Impact and Community Health Improvement Planning—to address the current and future health and social needs of our region.

• Community Wellness Initiatives: Programs that support ongoing population health initiatives and expand access to services, outreach, education and connection to basic health and social resources. These programs include the new Community Wellness Program, The New Beginnings Program, The Basics, Southcoast and The Southcoast Resource Connect Platform.
• Community Engagement and Impact: Southcoast’s community support through contributions, coalition participation, volunteerism efforts and grant programs.
• Community Health Improvement Planning: A community-driven initiative that focuses on collaboration with a diverse group of South Coast residents and leaders to create long-term, transformational change to the overall health and wellness of the region.

“As we continue developing new community health initiatives, it is important that we not only react to specific community needs but proactively address them,” says Davis. “Focusing on initiatives targeting socio-economic needs, we are hoping to get ahead of the root causes of many current health problems and break the cycle.”

To learn more about Southcoast’s Community Health & Wellness department, including Southcoast CARES please visit Southcoast Health CARES – Southcoast Health.