Washington, DC -- The de Beaumont Foundation announced today that it has committed $5.76 million to fund Phase II of the Practical Playbook: Public Health and Primary Care Together, a key web-based resource that provides a "how to" manual for primary care and public health improve our understanding and integration with healthcare in the United States.

"The support and recognition that the Practical Playbook has received in Phase I from organizations like the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is a testament to the great need for this resource in both public health and medical fields," said James Sprague, MD, chairman of the board of the de Beaumont Foundation. "The Practical Playbook has already made a significant impact in its first year of operations, and Phase II will accelerate that forward momentum." 

The Practical Playbook was developed by the de Beaumont Foundation, Duke Community and Family Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and has oversight from a steering committee made of up members of the aforementioned organizations; James Sprague, MD and Brian Castrucci, MA from the de Beaumont Foundation, Lloyd Michener, MD from Duke Community and Family Medicine, and Denise Koo, MD from the CDC. In addition, the Practical Playbook receives guidance from a National Advisory Committee that is comprised of both public health and primary care experts.

In Phase II, the Practical Playbook's leadership will also be strengthened by the addition of Rear Admiral Sarah Linde, MD, Chief Public Health Officer at HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to the steering committee. Dr. Linde's distinguished career has included stints at the National Health Service Corps, the Food and Drug Administration, and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) before joining senior management at HRSA. 

While building on the successes of Phase I, Phase II will seek to enhance the Practical Playbook's role as a central point of coordination for national efforts to facilitate greater collaboration between primary care and public health. Phase II will focus on enhancing the website to become an online community where public health and primary care practitioners can access support from primary care and public health leaders, connect with those working on similar projects, and learn from success stories across the county. The project will develop innovative learning tools for those in the field and will work alongside workforce development programs to strengthen training for cross-sectorial disciplines in population health. In addition, the project will host a national summit on integration in the spring of 2016. For more information about the Practical Playbook, please visit www.practicalplaybook.org.

As the Practical Playbook rolls out new initiatives, it will also play a central role in the BUILD Health Challenge, a national award program funded by the de Beaumont Foundation, the Advisory Board Company, the Kresge Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Colorado Health Foundation. The BUILD Health Challenge will award grants to up to 17 communities in which a local health system, health department, and nonprofit organization have partnered to address the upstream determinants of health.

"The communities funded by the BUILD Health Challenge will provide us with an unprecedented opportunity to learn and develop best practices for multi-partner collaboration to improve population health," said Lloyd Michener, MD, Professor and Chair of Duke Community and Family Medicine. "We look forward to working closely with the grantees and being able to identify common challenges and adaptable solutions as these partnerships grow in their work."

The Practical Playbook will be taking a leadership role in providing technical assistance to the BUILD Health Challenge grantees in partnership with three other organizations: the Housing Partnership Network, the Prevention Institute, and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

The de Beaumont Foundation was founded in 1998 by Pierre S. de Beaumont, and has since worked to transform the practice of public health in the United States. The Foundation primarily supports projects that provide training and education to the public health workforce; build public health infrastructure; and improve information and data management through innovative technology.

http://www.debeaumont.org/

Duke Community and Family Medicine was established in 1966, and it took an early leadership role in developing programs to improve the health of communities. Today, the Department of Community and Family Medicine is a diverse collection of educational, research, and clinical programs which are still united in seeking ways of improving the health of the members of our communities.

http://cfm.mc.duke.edu/

The CDC, founded in 1946, works 24/7 keeping America safe from health, safety, and security threats, both foreign and domestic. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease, and supports communities and citizens to do the same. CDC is the nation's health protection agency ‹ saving lives, protecting people from health threats, and saving money through prevention.

www.cdc.gov

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care by strengthening the health care workforce, building healthy communities and achieving health equity. HRSA's programs provide health care to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.

www.hrsa.gov