Improving the health of our community is profoundly affected by the collective beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of everyone who lives in the community. It is therefore a shared responsibility that requires the active participation and leadership of government officials, business executives, educators, community leaders and members of the general public. It is through these community partnerships that a great deal of the work in improving community health status is accomplished. The following are active community partnerships in Delaware County:
Domestic Violence Medical Advocacy Coalition partnership of all hospitals in the County along with the Medical Society and Domestic Abuse Project that aims to increase awareness of the problem of domestic violence, reduce the incidence and ensure appropriate services for victims.
Weed and Seed Project: major focused initiative to eliminate crime (weed) and concentrate human services (seed) in a targeted geographic area in Chester.
Violence Prevention Initiative: community-wide and county-wide initiative intended to reduce the level of violence affecting children and families in Chester City and Delaware County.
Communities that Care (CTC) Initiatives: broad based coalition working to improve overall quality of life for youth in several communities in Delaware County.
Healthy Families Partnership: multi-provider partnership formed to assist CKHS to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality in Chester.
First Steps for Healthy Kids: partnership with the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (DVHC) and a broad array of other health care providers to reduce the number of uninsured children, ensure a medical home for each child and maximize availability of early childhood care.
Family Centers Project: co-sponsored initiative with the Delaware County Intermediate Unit that provides a comprehensive one-stop information and referral center to promote healthy growth and development of children and families.
Chester Housing Authority Revitalization Council: multi-agency partnership created to assist HUD in the total revitalization of four (4) housing projects in Chester and improvement in the overall quality of life for the residents.
Delaware County Immunization Coalition: broad based partnership of health care providers committed to significantly improving compliance with the full schedule of recommended immunizations for children, adolescents and adults.
Smedley Wellness Center: partnership with Chester Upland School District to provide a school based primary care center for middle school children.
Delaware County Smoking Prevention and Cessation Coalition: partnership with stakeholders for community awareness, prevention and smoking cessation services to adolescents, adults and seniors.
Cultural Connection Collaborative: partnership with Upper Darby School District, Pennsylvania Department of Health, ChesPenn Health Services and other community stakeholders to address better access and sensitivity to the health needs of recently immigrated children, primarily from Asian communities.
Crozer-Keystone Health System Board Chairman and Chester Devotee Robert Bruce Accepts the Prestigious NOVA Award from the American Hospital Association
UNDER BRUCE'S LEADERSHIP, CKHS BECOMES ONE OF FIVE NATIONAL NOVA AWARD WINNERS TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR ITS LONGSTANDING COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY HEALTH
SPRINGFIELD, PA [2002] – Robert J. Bruce, A.B., M.A., L.H.D., chairman of the Crozer-Keystone Health System Board of Directors and president emeritus of Widener University, recently accepted the American Hospital Association's coveted NOVA Award on behalf of the Crozer-Keystone Health System (CKHS). The NOVA award – one of the AHA’s most prestigious honors – recognizes effective, collaborative programs focused on improving community health status. CKHS is one of five national winners of the award, which was given at the AHA Health Forum Leadership Summit in San Diego.
“I am extremely proud that the Crozer-Keystone Health System has received this national recognition,” Bruce says. “The award is most meaningful to Crozer-Keystone’s leadership and staff. The NOVA Award is a reflection of the health system’s mission and values and its long-term commitment to community health. It represents more than a decade of hard work and unwavering dedication to create programs and services that truly make a difference to our families and the communities we serve. It symbolizes Crozer-Keystone’s willingness to forge partnerships with institutions like Widener University and engage other members of society to join in a worthwhile cause. Most importantly, it illuminates the fact that Crozer-Keystone is doing the right thing and will continue to do so in the future.”
Backed by a longstanding commitment to community health, Crozer-Keystone Health System received the NOVA Award for Chester Community Connections, which refers to a cooperative of health care, social, civic, economic and educational programs that are delivered to the larger Chester, Pa., community in conjunction with CKHS’s Crozer-Chester Medical Center (Upland, Pa.) and Community Hospital (Chester). Chester Community Connections literally “connects” Chester residents – who have had disproportionately high rates of morbidity and mortality, illiteracy, unemployment and poverty – with the vital programs and services that they need. These programs, developed in partnership with 20 other organizations and governmental agencies, serve children, adults and seniors in the Chester community. Chester Community Connections works closely with four major partners: the City of Chester; nearby Widener University; ChesPenn Health Services, federally funded community health centers in Chester; and the Communities That Care (CTC) network.
According to Bruce, partnerships are the cornerstone of many CKHS community-based programs. Throughout his relationship with CKHS and during his 20-year tenure as Widener president, Bruce has developed and cemented strong bonds with the Chester community and its mayor, council and administration. Bruce has been instrumental in the joint initiative to develop University Technology Park with Crozer-Keystone Health System and Widener.
Envisioned as a business incubator for the City of Chester, University Technology Park has successfully attracted technology-based jobs and businesses to the city. The joint project will ultimately consist of three state-of-the-art buildings. The first, a 30,000-square-foot structure that opened in 1999, has nearly full occupancy and is home to Crozer Medical Associates, one of Crozer-Keystone’s primary-care practices and a residency teaching site. The second building, a 40,000-square-foot structure, is currently under construction.
As the major employer and health care provider in the community, Crozer-Keystone Health System is working with Widener and other local agencies to revitalize Chester's economic foundation, thus removing a significant barrier to improving community health. The City of Chester, which is Pennsylvania's oldest city and an industrial town for much of its 360 years, has undergone sweeping economic decline over the last half-century. Once a manufacturing powerhouse, Chester lost jobs and a significant portion of its population as the nation moved from an industrial to service economy. Over the last four decades, Chester’s population has declined from its peak of 63,700 to less than 40,000. The city lost almost a third of its jobs between the 1950s and the 1980s; in 1997, its unemployment rate stood at 7.6 percent. Consistent with the city’s economic status, Chester’s residents are comparatively older, poorer, and less likely to seek preventive health care. But the tide is turning.
Based on CKHS's biannual community health needs assessments and guided by the federal government’s Healthy People 2010 goals, Crozer-Keystone and its partners have identified key health improvement priorities. Many of these priorities are addressed in Crozer-Keystone's community health programming, which was recognized nationally this year with the NOVA Award.
In addition to University Technology Park, major programmatic highlights of Chester Community Connections include:
• A "One-Stop Shop” at Community Hospital, which was established in 1997 and brings together multiple health and human service agencies, including ambulatory medical care, women and children’s health services, behavioral and mental health services, substance abuse programs, employment and life-skills assistance, housing services, literacy training, child care, domestic abuse assistance and a police mini-station;
• The Crozer-Keystone Healthy Start program;
• An immunization initiative at a local middle school;
• A school-based asthma management program;
• Specialized adolescent care through local schools, including a wellness center, a youth development program, and teen pregnancy prevention;
• Free early detection services for breast and cervical cancer among at-risk women, especially high-risk groups such as African Americans over age 50;
• A Congregational Nursing Program.
Robert Bruce is one of the greatest champions of Crozer-Keystone and Widener's ongoing commitment to the City of Chester.
"I have challenged both institutions to always be responsive to new opportunities within the framework of their missions and the context of excellence," Bruce said. "I am committed to meeting the challenge because it's good for both the city and the people and the well-being of both institutions."
Bruce’s career has been defined by his groundbreaking accomplishments and his ability to undertake new challenges with consummate leadership. Passionate about academic standards and civic responsibility throughout his 40-year career as an educator, historian and administrator, Bruce helped shape the present and future of education at all levels through his service and counsel to local, state and federal organizations and committees. Of the many dramatic changes under Bruce's two decades of leadership, Widener crystallized a traditional university structure by adding six schools and colleges with master’s- and doctoral-level programs in many disciplines. Also during his administration, the University experienced unparalleled financial stability and expansion, investing heavily in the physical plant of its Chester, Pa., campus as well as its two other campuses and law school.
During Bruce’s stint as CKHS Board Chairman, which he will hold through 2003, Crozer-Keystone Health System has further defined itself as the leading employer and health system in the Delaware County region. Its steadfast commitment to high-quality health care and community outreach have been recognized by the American Hospital Association (AHA), the Voluntary Hospitals of America (VHA), the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, and the Friends of the Delaware County Women’s Commission.
Bruce earned an A.B. degree from Colby College in 1959, an M.A. from the University of Massachusetts in 1964, and honorary L.H.D.s from Widener, Wilkes University and Holy Family College. He is also a Fulbright Scholar and a long-standing member and past chairman of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. As chairman of the MS Walk for the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Bruce extends his charitable spirit and his commitment to medical research and care.
Bruce and Judith Garland, his wife of more than 40 years, have two children, Kimberley Bruce Campbell and Scott Garland Bruce, and seven grandchildren.