Slideshow of photos from the MSHIELD Community Linkage Event

MSHIELD Hosts Health Beyond Healthcare: Advancing Whole Health Through Community Partnerships 

 

Health professionals, community health workers, and rural care advocates recently gathered for a community clinical linkage summit hosted by MSHIELD, a Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI) established through the Value Partnerships. The event was held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, and focused on advancing community health in rural settings, with particular emphasis on community health workers (CHWs) as critical infrastructure for whole-person health.

Jill Oesterle of the Michigan Center for Rural Health delivered the welcome remarks, setting the tone for a morning of collaborative learning. The program began with a shared grounding activity, during which participants moved around the room toward words and concepts that best reflected their personal motivations for the work, among them advocacy, compassion, access, transformation, and connection. This exercise served both as a values-clarifying activity and a structured networking opportunity.

Financing Community Health Workers as Whole Health Infrastructure

The keynote address was delivered by Kareem Baig, Executive Director of the Michigan Community Health Worker Alliance (MiCHWA), who explored the transition of whole-health principles from policy aspirations to operational frameworks. Baig argued that health is experienced not only during clinical encounters but throughout the entire patient journey, the drive to an appointment, check-out and discharge planning, and follow-up care in the days following the appointment.  

Baig emphasized that patient outcomes depend on factors extending well beyond the clinical recommendation itself, including a patient’s ability to understand the next steps, secure transportation, obtain medications and supplies, address social needs, and maintain trust in the healthcare system during periods of high stress. Drawing on data from Michigan employee data, he noted that community health workers (CHWs) are most frequently called upon to support patients at this follow-through level of care, the space between clinical recommendations and real-world actions.

Breakout Sessions Highlight Rural Innovation and Resource Navigation

Attendees participated in three concurrent breakout sessions, each focusing on a different aspect of community health. Amelia Kasper and Lindsay Bechtel from the Northern Michigan Community Health Innovation Region (CHIR) led a session on addressing social health needs in rural areas, exploring strategies for identifying and responding to the social drivers of health in underserved communities.

A second session, “Highlights from the Field: Community Health Worker Partnerships in Action,” featured Sally Mellema of Northern Michigan CHIR, Kelly Ainsworth of the Mid-Michigan Community Health Access Program, and Dr. Alex Peahl of the University of Michigan. The panel drew on frontline experience to demonstrate how CHW partnerships are improving outcomes in communities throughout the state.

Emma Lentini and Sarah Kile of Michigan 211 presented the third session, providing an overview of the statewide 211 system’s comprehensive approach to addressing patients’ social needs. Michigan 211 connects residents to local services, resources, and support across housing, food security, transportation, and behavioral health, serving as a vital link between clinical care and community-based resources.

Connecting the Pieces

Following the breakout sessions, participants engaged in a “Connecting the Pieces” activity, where each attendee received a puzzle piece and was tasked with finding others whose pieces fit together. Once assembled, the small groups shared key takeaways from the sessions they attended and discussed how the day’s lessons could be applied to their own work.

MSHIELD Co-Director, Dr. Renu Tipirneni, M.D., M.Sc., delivered the closing remarks, recognizing MSHIELD’s Social Care Advisory Council and drawing together the day’s themes to affirm the role of CQIs in advancing community-level health improvements throughout Michigan.  

For more information on MSHIELD and future events, visit their website.

For access to MSHIELD resources and toolkits, please visit this form.