Community Health initiatives at LVHN

Communities experience different advantages and disadvantage and require tailored approaches to create fair and equitable access for all.

Community Health at Lehigh Valley Health Network commits to ensure that every person in every community we serve has access to the supports they need to achieve optimal health and wellness. We will accomplish this through effective and innovative partnerships that strive to make sustainable improvements and foster healthy environments.

The starting point for improving community wellness is to address the social factors that are a foundation for health for everyone. Like the foundation of a building, social factors such as humane housing, education, and meaningful work, are the building blocks that support health in the community and allow people to thrive. When one of these building blocks is missing or unstable, it can inhibit the health of the entire community. Together, everyone can contribute to strengthening these building blocks so that each member of our community can flourish.

Well-Being Portfolio

The Well-Being Portfolio is a way of connecting the role of vital conditions and urgent services, including social needs. This framework is an evolution of the social determinants of health language and clarifies the types of services and supports people need to be able to thrive.
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Vital Conditions

Basic needs for health & safety
Basic requirements for health and safety
  • Adequate air and water
  • Nutritious food
  • Routine physical activity
  • Sufficient sleep
  • Safe, satisfying sexuality and reproduction
  • Freedom from crime, injury, violence, traumatic stress, and addiction
  • Routine health care (physical and mental)
Lifelong learning
Continuous learning, education, and literacy
  • Cognitive, social, and emotional abilities
  • Early childhood experiences
  • Elementary and high school
  • Higher education
  • Career and adult education
Meaningful work and wealth
Rewarding work, careers, and standards of living
  • Job training/retraining
  • Well-paying, fulfilling jobs
  • Family and community wealth
  • Savings and limited debt
Humane housing
Humane, consistent housing
  • Adequate space per person
  • Safe structure
  • Affordable costs
  • Diverse neighborhood (without gentrification, segregation, and concentrated poverty)
  • Close to work, school, food, and recreation/nature
Thriving natural world
Sustainable natural resources and freedom from climate hazards
  • Clean air, water, and soil
  • Natural spaces
  • Freedom from extreme heat, flooding, wind, radiation, and earthquakes
Reliable transportation
Reliable, safe, and accessible transportation
  • Close to work, school, food, and leisure
  • Safe transport
  • Active transport
  • Efficient energy use
  • Few environmental hazards

Urgent Needs

Acute Care for Illness or Injury
Acute and post-acute care for physical and mental illness
  • Emergency medical services
  • Acute hospitalization
  • Trauma-informed care
Addiction Treatment
Services to address mental health and recovery needs
  • Substance abuse treatment and support
Crime Response
Efforts to fairly adjudicate alleged violations of the law
  • Police, fire, and first responders
  • Courts
  • Incarceration
Environmental Cleanup
Efforts to clean up hazards in air, water, soil, homes, workplaces, and communities
  • Lead abatement
  • Water treatment
  • Brownfield decontamination
  • Disaster response and recovery
Unemployment and Food Assistance
Assistance for those who are disadvantaged, out of work, or disabled
  • Federally supported programs for disadvantaged families (TANF, SNAP, WIC)
  • Food banks
  • Energy assistance
  • Childcare assistance
Homeless Services
Short-term housing for people experiencing homelessness
  • Emergency shelters

Community Health Innovators

LVHN is uniquely positioned to drive innovation and accelerate community health improvements with the Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health and the Pool Center for Health Analytics. 
The Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health (LPPIH) informs LVHN's community health initiatives.

Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health

Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health works closely with many sectors in our communities to build a foundation of health for all residents to thrive. We bring together institutions and people, particularly those from communities who have not historically had a voice in solutions, to identify changes to systems that support the foundation of health. We translate national and local best practices to drive sustainable, collective solutions that foster health.

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Pool Center for Health Analytics

Pool Center for Health Analytics

The Pool Center for Health Analytics is the GPS we use to help navigate the complicated landscape of social factors that influence community health. We draw on a wealth of data to chart out routes from where we are as a community to where we want to be – identifying critical intersections, anticipating roadblocks, and adapting to changes along the way. Most of all, we put our data expertise to work to drive positive outcomes and move needed solutions forward.

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