Leading Health Foundations Say Prevention is Vital to Health Systems Reform

In a letter released August 17, leaders at The California Endowment, The Kresge Foundation, Nemours, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Kaiser Permanente, wrote that prevention measures like early health screenings and improved access to healthy food will save both lives and money. Good health, they argue, doesn’t start at the doctor’s office – it starts where we live, work, learn and play.

Beginning in 2006, the six foundations, along with technical advisor Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, partnered to form the Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership – a collaboration of funders looking to help healthy people live in healthy places. The letter was released on behalf of the Partnership and leaders point to several proven examples where community-level prevention measures improved health, saved money, and cultivated community leadership.

Read the news release for more information.