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Gary Gunderson will tell you that in Whitehaven, healthcare often begins at Hazel’s Hair Fashions, a beauty salon on Elvis Presley Boulevard.

That was just one nugget of crucial information that emerged from the initial run of the Congregational Health Network, an audacious project of Methodist Healthcare Inc., to map every health asset in Shelby County, and enlist churches to build a community of health advocacy.

Gunderson is senior vice president of health and welfare ministries for Methodist and first conceived the idea at Emory University in Atlanta. He came to Memphis in 2005 with the goal of implementing his idea in one of the least healthy -- but thoroughly churched – cities in the nation.

The vision is a city in which residents draw on the support of their own congregations when they are sick and when they want to stay healthy. It’s based on the goal of changing healthcare from a sickness-response to wellness-support attitude, and it begins with maps.

“The first thing we need to know is what we have to work with,” Gunderson said. “We can go to the CDC, the police, a lot of places and get maps of disease and crime; we have extreme knowledge of pathology, but we know nothing about what’s out there that keeps us alive.”

The Whitehaven project began by creating a Health Seeker Group, a team of 14 men and 15 women from 20 different congregations who were already active in the community. They were trained by Sinatra Matimelo, a pastor from Zambia who health-mapped his own community and developed many of the concepts.

It spins out of a report by the African Religious Health Assets and funding by the World Health Organization titled “Appreciating Assets: The Contribution of Religion to Universal Access in Africa.”

While a map from rural Zambia includes such health assets as wells with clean water and medical clinics, a Memphis asset map includes walking trails in city parks and the local Easy Way store for fresh fruit and vegetables. The process used in Africa worked flawlessly in Memphis.

“When you draw your own map, of your own community, the logic is that you will create a map with the things you value,” said Teresa Cutts, senior scholar of the Interfaith Health Program and associate director of Community Affairs at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Participants included pharmacies and medical facilities, but when it came time to rate their importance more critical information came to light. Some providers have a reputation for being unhelpful, even hostile. That’s the kind of detail that is only known to those who live in the area, Gunderson said, which an outside analyst would lack.

“I would not trust any map that was not validated by those who live on the map,” he said.

Two places that scored at the top were the Church Health Center and Christ Community Health Services, which by design have a social service mission. They share that status with Catholic Charities and the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association.

Ultimately, the Congregational Health Network would be a catalyst for congregations to become more active in the health maintenance of their members. There’s also a practical side: if, over time, people can be kept out of the hospital, or discharged sooner, then Methodist can reduce its average length of stay. In a reimbursement world where Medicare DRGs set the pace, that translates into serious money.

Memphis has about 2,000 churches, but Methodist is seeking just 400 to act as bellwethers. A majority of congregations tend toward a fortress mentality, Gunderson said. They grow internally with social programs for members, sports leagues, parochial schools, building a safe haven in a secular world.

“Twenty percent see themselves as community assets,” he said. “These will be our heavy lifters.”

Pastors of nearly 100 churches have already signed on, with more than that in the process. Each church is asked to appoint a liaison. They’ll work with “navigators,” who are paid Methodist employees, in designing health programs that fit the needs of a congregation. One church with a lot of elderly members will need a different strategy than a church where diabetes is a major concern.

Churches are an obvious partner.

“Life is a journey of health, and for most of that journey people are not a patient of anyone,” Gunderson said. “A congregation has the capacity to shape the journey and shape life. A congregation is the only institution in society designed to serve from pre-birth to death.”

“Particularly in the African-American community, churches have been a place where people convene,” said Patria Johnson, program director of Memphis Healthy Churches. “Pastors wield a lot of influence, and if the pastor is on board, parishioners listen.”

Memphis Healthy Churches is operated by Christ Community and funded by Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. It began in 1998 to disseminate information on breast cancer, but has grown to a network of 75 congregations, addressing a broad scope of concerns. It’s the shared belief system of a church, and the peer support that makes it work, Johnson said.

Patterns have already emerged. Southern Baptists are slower to join, but National Baptists, and their tradition of social activism, are enthusiastic. That’s helped by Bobby Baker, pastor of Magnolia Baptist Church, who is also director of the program. Though it is based in Cordova, Hope Presbyterian Church popped up all over town, thanks to its proactive ministries throughout the city.

Hazel’s Hair Fashions illustrates how effective healthcare begins with trust relationships. Owner Hazel Moore has been in business more than 30 years, and her salon has become a place where women talk openly and trade information. Moore also has racks where local churches and other organizations can place flyers and brochures.

“In this business people, feel comfortable talking and sharing information,” she said. “Even if people are just eating nearby, they will come here to find out what’s going on in the community. When they know you have the right information they come again and send others.”

With about half of the hospital business in town, it means Methodist will also help reduce length of stay for the competition: Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp., and Saint Francis. Gunderson considers that acceptable, as it will also mean a dramatic improvement of overall health.



October 2007

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