THRIVE is the Accountable Community for Health (ACH) for Washington and northern Orange counties, Vermont.
THRIVE is a multi-sector collaborative, working to improve the health and well-being of the entire population in our defined geographic area. We work to improve health outcomes at a population (not individual) level and contain cost by identifying and addressing social drivers of health through data, informed prioritization and coordination of efforts across partners.
Who We Are
We are health care, public health, social services, municipalities, nonprofits, community members and other local partners.
- Mission: Convenes, connects, and amplifies to improve population health in Central Vermont.
- Vision: A thriving, healthy community.
- Structure: THRIVE is led by a Board of Directors with Central Vermont Medical Center serving as the convener and fiscal sponsor.
- Purpose: THRIVE exists to convene multi-sector partners who collaborate to improve health outcomes and contain costs by identifying and addressing social drivers of health.
- Joan Marie Misek, Chair, Vermont Department of Health
- Tawnya Kristen, Vice-Chair, Green Mountain United Way
- Anna Noonan, Ex-Officio, Central Vermont Medical Center
- Claire Kendall, Washington County Family Center
- Chris Meehan, Vermont Food Bank
- Sandy Rousse, Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice
- Kim Patnaude, Treasurer, Central Vermont Medical Center
- Eleanor Perreault, Secretary, Central Vermont Medical Center
- Eva Zaret, Central Vermont Medical Center, Central Vermont Prevention Coalition
Connie Gavin, the Blueprint Program Manager for the Barre Health Services Area and UVM Health’s Population Health Services Organization, supports the work of THRIVE. For more information about THRIVE e-mail constance.gavin@uvmhealth.org.
- Agency of Human Services- Field Director
- Capstone Community Action
- Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice
- Central Vermont Medical Center
- Central Vermont Prevention Coalition
- Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission
- Downstreet Housing
- Family Center of Washington County
- Green Mountain United Way
- Good Samaritan Haven
- People’s Health and Wellness
- Blueprint for Health
- Vermont Department of Health - local office - Barre
- Vermont Food Bank
- Washington County Mental Health Services
What We Do
To fulfill our mission, THRIVE convenes, connects and amplifies. THRIVE leverages a population health approach to address social drivers of health, guided by the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
- Convenes leaders from the multi sector network to foster unity and drive collective action. Through monthly gatherings, THRIVE facilitates Community Health Improvement Plan progress, share organizational updates and identify emerging needs.
- Connects local, regional and statewide partners through using a Community Preparedness and Response model designed to streamline communication and quickly mobilize when community needs or opportunities arise — supporting coordinated, timely action across the network.
- Amplifies the work of partner organizations by elevating key community health initiatives and driving faster, more coordinated progress by facilitating Collaborative Action Networks.
Demonstrated successes of THRIVE's cross sector collaboration of identifying and mobilizing response to community needs include:
FAQs
An accountable community for health is a structured, multi-sectoral alliance of healthcare, public health and other organizations that plan and implement strategies to improve population health and health equity for all residents in a geographic area.
An ACH includes 9 core elements:
- Mission
- Multi- Sectoral partnership
- Backbone “integrator organization”
- Governance
- Data
- Strategy and Implementation
- Community Member Engagement
- Communications
- Sustainable Funding
An ACH takes into account the multiple factors involved in an individual’s and population’s health.
Reference: Accountable Communities for Health | Blueprint for Health
Collective impact is a network of community members, organizations and institutions who advance equity by learning together, aligning and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems level change.
By bringing partners together to unite around shared challenges, analyze community health data and coordinate efforts, THRIVE serves as a champion for Collective Impact.
Reference: What Is Collective Impact - Collective Impact Forum
SDOH are non-medical factors that affect health outcomes. They include the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age. SDOH also includes the broader forces and systems that shape everyday life conditions.
These forces and systems encompass economic policies, development agendas, social norms, social policies, racism, climate change and political structures.
THRIVE’s network is comprised of partner organizations working across the social drivers of health domains: housing, food access, transportation, health care access and economic stability. By convening partners, strengthening connections and coordinating shared efforts to address the social factors that shape community health, THRIVE helps activate and amplify community‑driven solutions that improve health and well‑being for everyone in the region.
Reference: Social Determinants of Health | Public Health Gateway | CDC
