Our Partnerships for Early Childhood Development initiative connects pediatric practices at hospitals across the city to community organizations with the goal of addressing psychosocial risks to children from infancy to age five, a formative period shaping lifelong health and functioning.

The first phase of the project involved 11 hospitals and 18 community organizations. Participating practices screened all families of young patients for one or more risks—such as food insecurity, unsafe housing, and parental depression—and then connected families to social service organizations for help.  United Hospital Fund, together with the Altman Foundation and The New York Community Trust, provided $703,062 in support. These funds included direct grants to the clinical-community teams and support for a learning collaborative that brought participants together to share best practices and experience.  A UHF report, Clinical-Community Partnerships for Better Health: Observations from New York City’s Partnerships for Early Childhood Development Initiative, reviewed the progress and challenges of the project’s first year, during which teams screened 5,534 families.

United Hospital Fund has now launched a second phase of the project. The same three funders are providing $709,122 for grants to eight of the original participating hospitals and community partners to fine-tune and expand their work and to continue the collaborative learning sessions.

 
The PECD Team
Suzanne C. Brundage
Lee Partridge
Chad Shearer
Hollis Holmes