ABOUT US

The Jefferson County Collaborative for Health Equity (formerly Jefferson County Place Matters) serves Jefferson County, Alabama, the most populous county in the state. Our team seeks to improve the health and quality of life of community residents by identifying and intervening on conditions in the natural, built, and social environments (e.g., environmental health risks, food access, employment, education, poverty, housing) linked to increased risk for chronic diseases and conditions (e.g., diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity). Leveraging our collaborative partnerships, we particularly focus on reducing or eliminating health disparities through informed public policy debates, outreach and education, and community-based programs and projects designed to improve the social, economic, and physical environmental conditions in which Jefferson County residents live, go to school, work and/or play.

MISSION:

The mission of the Jefferson County Collaborative for Health Equity (JC-CHE) is to increase health equity by improving social and environmental conditions in Jefferson County.

VISION:

The vision of the Jefferson County Collaborative for Health Equity (JC-CHE) is a cohesive community where all who live, work, play, and go to school here are safe, healthy, and supported in reaching their full potential.

Residents with Low Access to a Supermarket

Years of Reduced Life Expectancy for a Black Male vs. White Female

Additional Infant Deaths to Black Mothers vs. White Mothers

In 2013, the Jefferson County Collaborative for Health Equity, in conjunction with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, undertook a study of the relationship between place, race, and health over the past 50 years in Jefferson County, Alabama.

This report focuses on the characteristics of Jefferson County and its communities’ characteristics such as education, poverty, neighborhood segregation, and healthy food access—that may impact health outcomes.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT HERE

MEET OUR TEAM

MONICA BASKIN, PhD

Executive Committee Chair

Professor, University of Alabama Birmingham

DEVON M. T. SIMS

Director of Public Health Services

Scientific Technologies Corporation

NICK SIMS

Assistant VP of Early Childhood Education and Healthy Communities

United Way of Central Alabama

ADRIENNE STARKS, PhD

CEO

STREAM Innovations, Inc.

AMANDA STOREY

Executive Director

Jones Valley Teaching Farm

JOANICE THOMPSON

Associate Director, Community

Outreach Program

UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center

GREG TOWNSEND

Health Service Administrator

Jefferson County Department of Health

Read full team biographies by clicking the button below.

Click Here

RESOURCES

Policy Link

PolicyLink is a national research and action institute advancing economic and social equity by Lifting Up What Works.

Atlanta

The Jefferson County Collaborative for Health Equity travelled to Atlanta, GA to participate in an Action Lab to learn tangible approaches to raise awareness and push health equity forward.

Food Summit 2013

Dr. Monica Baskins raises awareness around health equity at the Birmingham-Jefferson Food Policy Council’s 2013 Food Summit at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

CDC Health Equity Guide

A Practitioner’s Guide for Advancing Health Equity

Life Expectancy

Unnatural Causes

UNNATURAL CAUSES is the acclaimed documentary series broadcast by PBS and now used by thousands of organizations around the country to tackle the root causes of our alarming socio-economic and racial inequities in health.

Health Action 2013

Dr. Monica Baskin presents the Jefferson County Health Equity report at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Health Action Partnership at the Southern Museum of Flight.

Infant Mortality

National Collaborative for Health Equity

Founded in 2014, the National Collaborative was established to promote health equity through action, leadership, inclusion, and collaboration.

Mental Health Workshop

Greg Townsend leads an interactive workshop aimed at improving health equity in the mental health community.

Food Access

Expanding the Boundaries

This book explores the ways in which public health practitioners might act on the underlying social inequalities that are the root of health inequities.