08/14/2020
If ever there was a community issue that would bring us together to bring out the best in us, the corona virus is it. We must literally work together as if our lives depends on it.
What AHS Advancing Healthcare Systems, brings to the table, is an approach that works with local community stakeholders using distributive leadership and feeling the gap with missing resources, that will achieve decided metric outcomes that equals lives being saved, or whatever problem that needs to be solved.
FORT, an acronym that stands for Family Outreach Resource Teams. We go where needed and build wholistic and customized FORTs around those populations/communities that are vulnerable, at risk, or struggling with a community problem and bring forces to bear that produces sustainable outcomes that improves the trajectory of that community. Not inputs, but improved outcomes.
So, COVID-19 and vulnerable populations... what’s up with that community? As a community- do you know? How at risk are you? Are the experts giving you all the facts to know and take needed measures to protect yourselves? With the FORT approach, together we would ask these questions and many more to fully assess the state of vulnerability, strengths and weaknesses of your community.
This requires the ability to have a community emergency responder plan, from the inside out. Know your community and each member’s specific needs in the time of an emergency, which this pandemic is one. Knowing the needs in advance allows you to be prepared. This means walking the neighborhood streets and together, building your community registry, detailed down to the house, child, grandparent, physical disabilities and medications, with a 24/7 multilateral communication plan for every member within your FORT. I don’t believe we have that yet, anywhere that I’m aware of. This is a bottom up approach, that is well informed and ubiquitously connected.
Top down approaches cost a lot and leaves a lot to chance. With huge unknowns, that could be you or your loved ones. In a pandemic should we have so many reported as other race? I think we can do better. Come together- build a FORT.
