Includes Speaker Series on Health Care Best Practices and Conversations with the Community on Possible Health Care Futures for Western New York

(January 2008) -- Reaching for Excellence:  Community Vision and Voices for Western New York Health Care will engage communities from across Western New York in exploring possibilities and setting goals for a stronger, improved health care system for the eight-county region.  By providing the tools and forums to gather, coordinate and amplify the voice of the user in setting a long-term health care vision, the initiative aims to fill a gap in the region in meaningful community-driven health planning and civic engagement.  The initiative is organized around three components:

1.  A Speaker Series exposing the Western New York community and its leadership to innovative health care solutions implemented across the U.S.

To hear a recording of the first Speaker Series held on 11/15/07 on Elder Health Care, click on this link:  http://rx4excellence.org/GetInvolved/speakers/Speakers_ElderCare.html

To hear a recording of the second Speaker Series held on 12/10/07 on Rural Health Care, click on this link: http://rx4excellence.org/GetInvolved/speakers/Speakers_RuralCare.html

To hear a recording of the third Speaker Series held on 3/12/08 on the Urban Safety-Net, click on this link: http://rx4excellence.org/GetInvolved/speakers/Speakers_SafetyNet.html

To watch the video of the fourth Speaker Series held on 12/15/08 on Racial & Ethnic Disparities, click on this link: http://rx4excellence.org/GetInvolved/speakers/Speakers_Disparities.html

To watch the video of the fifth Speaker Series held on 4/2/09 on Early Childhood Development; Emotional, Social and Behavioral Development, click on this link: http://rx4excellence.org/GetInvolved/speakers/Speakers_Kindergarten.html 

2.  One Friday: Four Futures, a series of community conversations designed to engage the community in answering the question, “What do we want the future of health care in Western New York to look like?” and culminating the project.

Click on the link below to see CHFWCNY President Ann Monroe on All That Matters with host Peter Anderson discussing One Friday Four Futures (on YouTube), Courtesy of Time Warner Cable (March 2008):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDpcRFs8bfQ&eurl=http://rx4excellence-dev.ubri.buffalo.edu/conversations/conversations_main.cfm

3.  A set of community-driven priorities for Western New York health care for regular tracking and public reporting. 

Click on the link below to watch the launch of the Reaching for Excellence Community Conversations results event on July 28, 2009:

 http://accordent.powerstream.net/008/00204/UBRI