Fayette Collaborative Honored for Advancing Health and Healthcare of Georgians
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| From left: Becky Smith, executive director, FACTOR Fayette Family Connection Collaborative; Sheryl Watford, executive director, Fayette Care Clinic; Cathy Berggren, executive director, Real Life Center; and Barbara Pasierb, Coordinated Care Collaborative coordinator |
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About Joseph D. Greene In his 2005 memoir, From Cotton Fields to Board Rooms, Joseph D. Greene recounted leaving his home in rural Georgia in 1959 with his high school diploma and the $35 he earned from picking cotton. The years that followed were decorated with success and achievements, as he elevated himself from the cotton fields of his youth to become a revered public leader. As a founding Healthcare Georgia Foundation board member, Greene helped steward the organization from its inception in 1999 through his retirement as board chair in 2006. In November 2007, the Foundation lost an inspirational leader when this gentle soul lost his battle with cancer. In 2008, Healthcare Georgia Foundation dedicated its community service award program in his honor, naming it the Joseph D. Greene Community Service Award. Healthcare Georgia Foundation is a statewide, private independent foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to advance the health of all Georgians and to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare for underserved individuals and communities. Through its strategic grantmaking, Healthcare Georgia Foundation supports organizations that drive positive change, promotes programs that improve health and healthcare among underserved individuals and communities, and connects people, partners and resources across Georgia. |
The Coordinated Care Collaborative (C3) of Fayette County recently received Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s 2012 Joseph D. Greene Community Service Award. C3 was the only community collaborative this year along with five individuals from across the state recognized for volunteer work dedicated to advancing the health and healthcare of Georgians.
“Communities flourish as a result of the efforts of these five individuals and one collaborative, and their unselfish service in the promotion of better health and healthcare for underserved individuals and communities,” said Gary D. Nelson, Ph.D., president of the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, during a special ceremony in May. “Through the dedication and tireless efforts of these heroes for health, Georgians today and tomorrow will benefit greatly from their legacy of servant leadership.”
The C3 partners—FACTOR, Fayette Care Clinic, Real Life Center, Fayette Counseling Center, Fayette County Health Dept., and Promise Place—address finances, food, employment, basic healthcare, and other life issues that confront people in their community. The collaborative takes a holistic approach to healthcare, providing the citizens with access to a network of providers that might otherwise be unavailable to them.
“C3 is an exciting venture for all of us,” said Becky Smith, executive director of FACTOR, the Georgia Family Connection collaborative organization in Fayette County. “We’re able to provide comprehensive care for the uninsured in the county.”
After years of working together informally, the partner organizations discussed formalizing the relationship to better serve shared target populations and streamline health and social services already in place, and in 2010 formally established C3.
“We’re able to transfer and share information so we’re covering and caring for people as a group—as a whole—so no one gets lost,” said Cathy Berggren, executive director of Real Life Center.
This unique network maintains patient confidentiality while providing coordinated care that serves and monitors the needs of the patient. Those treated within the collaborative are able to receive a high level of care comparable to those with access to mainstream health and wellness care, which makes C3 a model for a nonprofit collaborative approach to healthcare delivery.
“Our C-3 Health and Wellness Collaborative is the best evidence that Georgia Family Connection collaborative organizations deliver a valuable service to the community by providing the convening table where stakeholders meet around common needs and formulate plans to work together toward common goals,” said Smith. “Our group receiving this award made me very proud.”
Contact:
Becky Smith
Executive Director, FACTOR
404-291-1602
bsmith719@bellsouth.net
William Valladares
GaFCP Communications Director
404-527-7394 (x114)
william@gafcp.org