Louisville named a finalist for national culture of health prize

$25,000 will be awarded to up to 10 communities

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 11, 2016) — Louisville has been chosen as one of 16 finalists for the 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Prize. Selected from nearly 200 applicants, Louisville advanced to finalist status because of strides made to put good health within everyone’s reach.

The prize is an annual competition that awards $25,000 to up to 10 communities that are making great strides in their journey to better health. Each winner will also have their success story celebrated broadly to inspire change across the nation.

“This recognition is a great testament to the work being done across our community by civic, nonprofit and corporate partners with the goal of eliminating health inequities and improving the overall health in our community,” said Mayor Greg Fischer.

To earn prize finalist status, communities had to demonstrate how they excelled in six criteria:

• Defining health in the broadest possible terms.
• Committing to sustainable systems changes and policy-oriented long-term solutions.
• Cultivating a shared and deeply held belief in the importance of equal opportunity for health.
• Harnessing the collective power of leaders, partners and community members.
• Securing and making the most of available resources.
• Measuring and sharing progress and results.

A collaborative committee made up of representatives from the Community Foundation of Louisville, Greater Louisville Project and IDEAS xLab spearheaded the application process, raising up the work being done across the community by nearly 120 community, civic and corporate partners.

Some key themes this committee identified in its application included:

• The voices of those most affected by poor health outcomes inform both health policy and action.
• Setting goals, learning from others and using evidence-based practices whenever possible.
• Data is a driver, openly shared and consistently part of communication.
• Health is approached and addressed holistically.
• Everyone matters and has a right to good health.

Over the next three months teams from RWJF and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, along with national leaders from throughout the country, will visit the finalist communities to learn more about how they are working across multiple fronts to improve health for all. The 2016 RWJF Culture of Health Prize winners will be announced in September.