For Release
December 14, 2017
Contact: Veronica Mikitka Reed, 215.434.7194, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Public Health Management Corporation Celebrates 45 Years of Re-Imagining Public Health
Councilman Derek Green presented PHMC with a citation recognizing the organization’s 45-year anniversary and commitment to serving the region’s public health needs.
PHILADELPHIA, PA. – Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities, is celebrating 45 years of partnering with government, foundations, and community-based organizations to provide public health services to the region’s most vulnerable populations.
PHMC touches the lives of more than 350,000 individuals through more than 350 programs, a network of subsidiary organizations, and more than 70 locations with a focus on integrated health services, child and family social services, education and workforce development, criminal justice and transitional services, and research and data. Since its founding in 1972, PHMC has expanded to create a continuum of public health resources, integrating services to meet the needs of diverse populations in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
“From our humble beginnings in 1972, PHMC has grown to be one of the largest and most comprehensive public health institutes in the country, by wrapping our services around individuals and families in our most needy communities,” said Richard J. Cohen, PHMC’s President and CEO. “PHMC is continuously focused on innovative partnerships and unique collaborations, and we couldn’t be more proud of these relationships and our ability to utilize partnerships to expand impact and improve the lives of so many.”
PHMC is marking the occasion with internal and external events tied to the theme of “Re-imagining public health.” For nearly five decades, PHMC has been a leader in re-imagining public health through mergers and acquisitions, caring for the community, partnering with other organizations, and advancing public health in the region and nation. Here’s a closer look at some of the most recent ways PHMC continues to impact the region:
Mergers and Acquisitions:
- In June, PHMC announced its intent to pursue the acquisition of Wordsworth, a nonprofit organization providing education, behavioral health, and child welfare services to children, adolescents, and families. Pending the successful acquisition of Wordsworth, PHMC will integrate Wordsworth’s programs, which include two Community Umbrella Agencies (CUAs), foster family care programs, behavioral health programs, and Wordsworth Academy, into PHMC’s existing business enterprise to ensure the continuation of critical services to populations and communities in need.
- In July, PHMC merged Treatment Research Institute (TRI), a leading, national nonprofit research, development and policy organization, into its family of programs. TRI is now part of PHMC’s Research and Evaluation (R&E) Group, which is dedicated to improving the health of communities through applied, community-based research and rigorous program evaluation designed to inform best practices in the public health and education arenas. This merger further emphasized PHMC as a leader in championing a public health response to the substance abuse and misuse epidemic.
Caring:
- ChildLink, a program of PHMC whose mission is to educate, empower and increase a family's capacity to support their child in reaching his or her highest potential, celebrated 25 years of partnership with Philadelphia Infant Toddler Early Intervention Program coordinated by Philadelphia’s Intellectual disAbility Services, a division of the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. The program has provided early intervention service coordination to nearly 100,000 children and families across Philadelphia from birth to age three with special needs or developmental delays.
- In October of 2016, PHMC, along with the City of Philadelphia’s Community Behavioral Health (CBH), opened Pathways to Recovery, a new 30-45 day partial hospitalization program designed to help individuals struggling with both addiction and mental health issues. The program is the first-of-its-kind in Philadelphia. Pathways to Recovery engages highly vulnerable individuals struggling with both substance use and mental health challenges in order to provide stability, and assist them in their recovery.
Partnership:
- In April, PHMC, in partnership with Temple University Hospital, opened its sixth nurse-managed federally qualified health center in the PHMC health network. The PHMC Health Center at Temple University Hospital helps the emergency department by providing accessible, affordable health services to those who don’t need to be admitted to the hospital but need general care.
- In 2016, PHMC was named the administrative intermediary for the City of Philadelphia’s pre-K initiative in partnership with the Urban Affairs Coalition (UAC). PHMC and UAC closely collaborate in support of the City’s vision to deliver high-quality, accessible pre-K throughout Philadelphia. PHMC and UAC are joined together in the belief that high-quality, affordable early childhood education should be accessible to all children across the region. To date, 2,000 seats have been filled across 90 providers throughout the City.
Advancing Public Health:
- Joseph J. Peters Institute (JJPI), a PHMC subsidiary and nonprofit that helps individuals and families dealing with the effects of trauma, in collaboration with Strawberry Mansion: A Sanctuary for Hope (SMASH), have been awarded a two-year, $191,000 grant from Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). This grant allows JPPI to provide community-based Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) to children and adolescents (ages 3-17) residing in the 22nd Police District of North Philadelphia who have been victimized by violence or have experienced other types of trauma. Over the next two years, JJPI will work in collaboration with SMASH to stop the cycle of poverty and violence plaguing the 22nd police district by increasing accessibility for TF-CBT within the North Philadelphia community.
- In November, PHMC partnered with four other national organizations in an advocacy effort in support of the enforcement of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act to improve access to substance use disorder and mental health treatment by participating in the Parity10 Compliance Campaign. The campaign is a three-year effort to unite local and national advocates in 10 states to pursue full enforcement of the Parity Act – with the ultimate goal of ensuring that the law lives up to its promise nationwide.
Philadelphia Councilman Derek Green presented PHMC with a citation in celebration of 45 years of delivering public health services in the region.
PHMC has a long-standing legacy of delivering high-quality, evidence-based health, human and social services to individuals and families in the region. The organization continues to look for ways to help re-imagine the public health landscape that will increase its ability to make an impact in Philadelphia and beyond.
About PHMC
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices and evidence-based guidelines to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce. PHMC has served the region since 1972. For more information on PHMC, visit www.phmc.org.
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