Community Building through Health Care delivery is a key element of the Corporate Partnership Program (CPP). Its goals are to improve health care delivery, to provide enhanced economic oportunities through entrepreneurship and job creation, and to improve the quality of life for community residents.

The Health Care Panel at the Policy Conference highlighted the importance of meeting health care needs in CDC served communities, as well as the opportunities for CDCs to forge partnerships with health care providers, to encourage corporate investment and to have a positive economic impact on the community.

The Panel was chaired by Mary Nelson, President of Bethel New Life Inc. (Chicago) and included Tom Manning, Director of Project Finance, Primary Care Development Corp (New York); Christine Rico, Director of Business Development for the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (New York) and Rod Wooten, Exectuive Director of the Lake Street Partners CDC, Minneapolis, MN.

Mary Nelson set the stage by describing the upheaval created when a major hospital serving the West Garfield Park community closed its doors - and the community response - which resulted in the adaptive reuse ofthe hospital facility becoming a model of community revitalization, job creation and synergism.

Mary also discussed the lessons learned from the Career Ladder Training, which Bethel New Life has developed for welfare to work recipients. Bethel Senior Services serves as the industry based foundation for the Health Care Career Ladder Initiative in partnership with the city colleges and nursing homes. As a combined economic development and service venture, In Home Services employs 200 homemakers and supports 600 seniors per month.

Rod Wooten laid out the experience of another inner city CDC in responding to health care needs and, in particular, its relationship with a major local health care provider, Allina Health Care Systems.

Christine Rico described the work of The Paraprofessional Care Institute (PHI), Headquartered in the Bronx, N.Y. PHI is the non-profit arm of the Cooperative Healthcare Network, a system of worker owned cooperatives that currently employ more than 600 women as professional healthcare providers. Its mission is two-fold: (1) to create decent jobs for low-income women, with an emphasis on those who are unemployed or transitioning from welfare to work, and (2) to provide high quality health care to clients who are elderly, chronically ill or disabled. As is true for the Bethel New Life experience, home health care emerges as an area in which economic opportunity can be provided for community residents while meeting a health care need.

A major theme in both the Bethel New life and the PHI programs is the support that is provided by the CBO. Also, in both cases, the workers enjoy higher than average wages. One of the benefits of this approach is the continuity of the work force, which results in lowering costs.

The last presenter on the Health Care Panel was Tom Manning of Primary Health Care Associates (PHDC). Mr. Manning discussed the work of PHDC which is a certified CDFI in New York City. To date, PHDC has invested $80 million toward the creation of 17 new or expanded primary care facilities across New York City, creating the capacity for 540,000 outpatient visits annually. Since financing is always a problem for community based health facilities, the experience of PHDC can be illuminating for CDCs which are exploring the possibility of attracting health care investments to their communities.