Across the country, health care organizations and community-based organizations (CBOs) that provide human services are increasingly partnering to address both the clinical and the social determinants of health. The Partnership for Healthy Outcomes — a project of the Center for Health Care Strategies, Nonprofit Finance Fund, and the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities — sought to capture and analyze lessons from these emerging cross-sector partnerships. The project was made possible through support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

This report, informed by a survey of more than 200 health care related partnerships serving one or more of all 50 US states, explores the many ways that health care organizations and CBOs are partnering in shared pursuit of better health outcomes. It provides important lessons to inform partnerships that seek to improve access to care, address health inequities, and make progress on social issues like food, education, and housing. See also a companion set of case studies detailing successful partnerships serving varied populations and geographic areas across the country.