The 2nd Annual Empowering Adaptable Communities Summit, organized by Sodexo, highlighted the importance of adapting communities to improve population health through three key themes: addressing patient fear, re-evaluating caregiving roles, and fostering community connections. It emphasized that a holistic population health approach is essential for preventive care rather than reactive treatment. The event gathered healthcare leaders to discuss innovative solutions for health challenges and the necessity of supporting both patients and caregivers in community health initiatives.

1. CREATING ADAPTABLE COMMUNITIES:
A SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS FROM THE 2ND ANNUAL
ATLANTIC CENTER FOR POPULATION HEALTH SCIENCES
EMPOWERING ADAPTABLE COMMUNITIES SUMMIT
Rachel S. Permuth, PhD, MSPH, National Research Director, Sodexo
Jennifer M. Petrelli, SM, MPH, Nutritional Epidemiologist, Sodexo

2. Creating adaptable communities is no easy feat, especially in the face of
change and adversity. Sodexo was honored to be a featured presenter at
the 2nd
Annual Atlantic Center for Population Health Sciences Empowering
Adaptable Communities Summit. The Summit was held on October 21 and
22, 2015, in Morristown, New Jersey, at the College of Saint Elizabeth. The
event was devoted to providing new insights, information, inspiration, and
personal connections in our united efforts to empower communities to be
more adaptable.
Population Health is transforming how we view community health and creating a fundamentally
different culture and perspective focused on wellness. The population health approach maintains that
achieving a healthy community requires more than just treating sickness on an individual level.
Over the course of this symposium, we heard from community health thought leaders and leading
practice organizations, whose presentations focused on developing innovative solutions to pressing
population health problems. From the information that was shared, we have identified three important
themes that will become more and more important as we seek to enable healthy populations:
1. Patient Fear as a Central Part of the Patient Experience
2. New Perspectives on Caregiving – and Taking Care of the Caregivers
3. The Key Role of Community Connections and Healthy Neighborhoods
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3. Patient Fear as a Central Part of the Patient Experience
In healthcare, medical advances alone cannot guarantee better patient outcomes. Helping patients
heal or overcome illness involves more than just treatment through medical procedures and products;
patients’ mental well-being and peace-of-mind can be just as important.
In fact, understanding and alleviating fear is central to improving the patient experience.
This assertion is based on the fact that as humans, we have core needs, and fear occurs when one of
these needs is not being met.
Fear in the hospital setting is amplified and much more complex. Top patient fears include infection and
germs, incompetence, and death. Fear among patients typically revolves around two aspects: a loss of
control and depersonalization.
However, every patient experiences fear differently (see Figure 1). It is therefore vital for healthcare
organizations to look toward enhancing patient experience in the hospital setting through initiatives
targeted at these different manifestations of fear. Staff awareness, patient involvement, and social
support are essential for overcoming patient fear and are key areas for improvement.
Loners Worriers
Self-Centrics
Attention-
Seekers
FEAR
OF
THE
INSTITUTION
DEFLECT FEAR
INNERFOCUS
REACHOUT
TACKLE FEAR
Vitality
Recognition
Conviviality
Security
Listen
to
me
Bond
with
me
Singularize
my
stay
Respect
my
loneliness
Follow
my
plan
Regain
my
balance
Figure 1. Sodexo’s PersonixTM
Visualization of Different Manifestations of Patient Fear
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4. New Perspectives on Caregiving – and
Taking Care of the Caregivers
Focusing on patients, especially the fear they may cope with as part of their experience, may not be
enough to bring about a healthy population. Increasingly, attention is being paid to the enormous
contribution that caregivers make within our healthcare system, and the loneliness and isolation they face
in light of such an overwhelming task.
Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop new perspectives on caregiving.
We could all be caregivers at the drop of a hat, yet we have never had any training to prepare us for
this role. Our lives can become very complex as a result. It is estimated that there are 44 million unpaid
caregivers in the U.S., typically consisting of a patchwork of family, extended family, and friends. These
individuals often have little financial or social relief and may experience poor health as a result of their
caregiving.
Several factors have contributed to the increased pressures facing caregivers:
§§ Women are an increasingly large proportion of the out-of-home working population.
§§ Living arrangements are changing – multi-generational households are becoming rare, while single-
person households are growing.
§§ Family members may be able to meet their charge’s daily needs, but they may struggle with seeking
support from local organizations for practicalities such as mobility.
Given these challenges, how can we better support caregivers? Can technology help? What services
are out there to give relief to caregivers? How do we make sure caregivers know the resources that are
available to help them? It is essential that tomorrow’s healthcare leaders consider these questions and
work toward alleviating some of the stresses of caregiving.
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5. The Key Role of Community Connections
and Healthy Neighborhoods
Maintaining the health of an entire population requires not just that individual patients are retroactively
treated and cured, but also that illness is proactively prevented on a larger scale. This means moving
beyond the hospital and patients’ homes, and into the larger community. In fact, research has shown that
the physical and social environments are very strong determinants of health.
With this in mind, community connections and the formation of healthy neighborhoods
are the next population health levers.
The focus on the role of the community is especially important, given the greater risk and responsibility
being pushed onto the health system. Expenditures on health care (as a percent of GDP) remain high
while expenditures on social services are low. Regardless of the approach utilized, population health
initiatives must be data-driven and evidence-based. The evolution of community-oriented population
health via the integration of community and clinical initiatives is the key to improved outcomes and ROI.
An example initiative that utilizes community connections to drive population health, Sodexo’s
Communities for Health pilot, is described in Figure 2.
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6. Conclusion
The Empowering Adaptable Communities Summit focused on several key themes pertaining to improving
the well-being of communities. Achieving this goal requires a population health approach that emphasizes
prevention over treatment. It requires understanding the patient experience and working toward alleviating
patient fears. It requires supporting the caregivers who treat and assist sick or elderly individuals. And it
requires recognizing the growing role of community connections and healthy neighborhoods as a means to
enhance population health. Each of these three topics deserves further discussion and consideration from
community health leaders and other health professionals.
Figure 2. The Sodexo/YMCA of Central Florida Communities for Health Pilot
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7. Additional Resources
To learn more about the Empowering Adaptable Communities Summit,
the Atlantic Center for Population Health Sciences, or the three themes
identified, the following resources may be of interest.
Empowering Adaptable Communities Summit event website: http://www.cvent.com/events/empowering-
adaptable-communities-2015-summit/event-summary-6c1d296e96694b37b46255c68b5600ef.aspx
The Atlantic Center for Population Health Sciences website: http://www.atlantichealth.org/atlantic/
health+education/population+health/atlantic+center+for+population+health+sciences/
Sodexo White Papers:
§§ “Understanding and Managing Patient Fear in the Hospital Setting”
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/0351c0e8#/0351c0e8/1
§§ “Social Interaction, Loneliness and Quality of Life in Healthcare and Older Adults’ Care”
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/30a55063#/30a55063/1
§§ “Communities for Health Launch Event: Summary of Proceedings”
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/dc43c72e#/dc43c72e/1
Additional white papers can be found on Sodexo’s Thought Leadership Library:
bit.ly/sodexothoughtleadership
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8. As part of Sodexo’s commitment to creating
a better tomorrow through sustainable, green
initiatives, this document has been printed on paper
containing 20% post-consumer recycled content.
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