Advancing Health Podcast Summary

Episode Title: An Ecosystem Approach to Health Across Michigan Communities
Date: June 11, 2025
Host: Andrew Jagger (AHA)
Guests: Dr. Corey Smith & Vanessa Briggs (Corewell Health, Michigan)

Overview

This episode, released during Community Health Improvement Week, explores Corewell Health's ecosystem approach to community health across Michigan’s diverse regions. Host Andrew Jagger leads a conversation with Vanessa Briggs and Dr. Corey Smith, highlighting strategies for supporting local hospitals within a larger system while avoiding a "one size fits all" approach, fostering collaboration, and balancing system-wide resources with local needs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Ecosystem Model for Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)

• Vanessa Briggs explains the ecosystem approach to CHNA, which leverages partnerships with public health departments, community-based organizations, local boards, and advocates.
• The process lifts diverse voices and lived experiences, ensuring that health needs are identified and addressed collaboratively.
• Quote:

  "...it really does take a collaborative process, and that really requires diverse voices and perspectives and lived experiences..." – Vanessa Briggs [01:09]

2. Respecting Local History and Complexity

• Dr. Corey Smith emphasizes the importance of recognizing each hospital’s legacy and community fabric.
• Collaborative needs assessments should involve not only health system staff but also schools, nonprofits, and other key local players.
• Quote:

  "...it's important...to remember the kind of legacy and positionality that some of these local hospitals have in their communities and that they are a part of the fabric..." – Corey Smith [02:40]

3. Support Tools and Resources from the System Level

• Technical support from a centralized team is crucial for helping local hospital staff prioritize areas for improvement and align on strategies.
• Tools provided include survey instruments, access to public data sets, and technological solutions that streamline data acquisition and actionability.
• A balanced approach: System provides resources and frameworks, but local hospitals retain the flexibility to hone strategies to their unique context.
• Quote:

  "...rather than bringing forth a standard set of here are the needs that we're going to identify at each hospital across our system...trying to offer a way to work rather than a how to work..." – Corey Smith [04:44]

4. Standardization vs. Local Flexibility

• The system wrestles with the tension between standardization (efficiency, comparison) and local adaptation (relevance, effectiveness).
• The philosophy is to offer broad theories of change and resource backbones rather than prescriptive lists of priorities.
• Data access is democratized, supporting local decision-making while benefiting from system-level infrastructure.
• Tools Mentioned:
  • Enhanced survey design
  • Access to census and public datasets
  • Modern technology for rapid data gathering

5. Multi-Region Practice: Localized Example Programs

• Corewell operates across three regions (East, West, South), each tailoring programs to local needs yet sharing system-level support and strategy.
• East Region: School-based health clinics providing primary care to students and community members.
• West Region: School nursing program—training staff and supporting chronic disease management in schools.
• Collaboration: Deep partnerships with nonprofits and local coalitions drive program design and execution.
• Quote:

  "That's why we're able to sort of customize our approaches but yet still have...a collection of programs in a portfolio that addresses the needs..." – Vanessa Briggs [07:14]

6. Evaluation: Measuring Impact and Telling the Story

• Evaluating at scale is challenging: 3 regions, 100+ initiatives.
• Systematic prioritization determines where rigorous evaluation should be applied based on local and regional priorities.
• Blend of quantitative and qualitative methods; continuous improvement on selecting meaningful indicators.
• Quote:

  "...the question that's been sitting in my head for five years has fundamentally been how do we evaluate at scale?" – Corey Smith [10:13] "...trying to establish what are some of our...North Stars, our guideposts that we can organize around..." – Corey Smith [11:48]

7. Advice for Health System Leaders

• System-wide strategies are important for efficiency and scale, but local adaptability is critical for relevance and effectiveness.
• The balance allows for both "economies of scale" and authentic community impact.
• Quote:

  "We can have system wide strategies, but that local context is what really matters because then we know we're moving the needle to address health disparities, access to care, partnering with organizations, addressing transportation, food access." – Vanessa Briggs [13:14]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• "[It's] really critical because we think about when we do CHNA as an ecosystem and an ecosystem model that can be replicated across all three regions..." – Vanessa Briggs [01:20]
• "...being intentional about recognizing the true complexity of...the legacy, different perspectives, and the intentionality of bringing all those together..." – Andrew Jagger [03:30]
• "...when you bring it to local stakeholders, it can feel misaligned with what they actually need and what they experience." – Corey Smith [04:44]
• "It's a variety of programs and interventions that are derived from our implementation plans and...come from the priorities that are identified in our community health needs assessments." – Vanessa Briggs [08:41]
• "...making choices with our regional leadership about where to invest evaluation resources based on local priorities." – Corey Smith [10:45]
• "We can't lose sight that the relevance and the effectiveness of addressing unique needs at a local level or regional level is still critically important..." – Vanessa Briggs [13:04]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:01–01:09 – Introduction & episode context
• 01:09–02:29 – The ecosystem approach to CHNA (Vanessa)
• 02:29–03:30 – Honoring local hospital history and community fabric (Corey)
• 03:55–04:28 – System-level technical resources (Vanessa)
• 04:44–06:49 – Balancing standardization with flexibility; technical tools (Corey)
• 07:14–09:34 – Real-world examples from Michigan regions (Vanessa)
• 10:13–12:15 – Evaluation: Measuring and communicating impact (Corey)
• 12:29–14:01 – Final advice for health system leaders on balancing system strategies and local needs (Vanessa)

Tone & Language

• Collaborative and thoughtful, reflecting the partnership mindset of Corewell Health
• Practical, with recurring emphasis on adaptability, continuous learning, and respect for local context
• Empowering message for both local hospitals and system leaders

Conclusion

Corewell Health’s Michigan-wide ecosystem approach demonstrates how health systems can act as resource providers, technical consultants, and strategic coordinators without overriding the unique character and needs of local hospitals and communities. The conversation reinforced the necessity of balancing system efficiencies with authentic local responsiveness—anchoring all efforts in partnership, data, flexibility, and a commitment to measurable impact.