History
The Kansas Partnership for Improving Community Health began in March 2011 as a public-private partnership. Eight cross-sectorial agencies came together to create and provide the vision and leadership for Kansas’ most comprehensive online source of state-specific data and relevant health improvement resources (www.kansashealthmatters.org). At its inception, the partnership’s mission was to empower communities and health care providers to improve health by providing data, supporting community health assessment and identifying best practices through partnerships and collaboration.
The partners created an initial Memorandum of Agreement in July 2011. The memorandum set several goals, including: making public data accessible in a meaningful context; supporting local organizations with tools to address complex health issues, and establishing a collaborative partnership to guide and sustain efforts. Additionally, the memorandum described the partnership responsibilities. Since 2011, the partnership continued to evolve and strengthen its operations. As the result, in 2013 members developed a strategic plan, which outlined new goals and objectives in the areas of governance, maintenance, sustainability and marketing/communication. The partnership also changed its name to Kansas Health Matters: A Partnership to Improve Community Health in order to be consistent with the site brand.
Current members of the Kansas Health Matters Partnership are:
Community Care Network of Kansas
Kansas Association of Local Health Departments