FOCUS AREAS
Public Health
The health of our communities depends on the quality of our environment and our access to food, housing, healthcare, and other systems. Our well-being is tied not only to the systems that surround us, but also by the way the people within the systems work together.
Why Illinois
Many of Illinois’s public health challenges mirror the nation’s, as do their underlying causes—inequitable policies, power imbalances, and an historic lack of access to resources and opportunities.
Our Work
IPHI is a strategic partner and advisor, building coalitions of community leaders, state and local governments, healthcare systems, and others working to create conditions where all people have a fair opportunity to thrive.
Health Information Sharing and Innovation
IPHI and our partners believe that information about community health needs belongs to all of us. Through our Systems Change Collaborative work, we helped secure an $8 million investment to establish the Chicago Regionwide Community Information Exchange. Today this organization helps caseworkers and providers across Chicago and Cook County safely share information to better coordinate care for people facing complex health challenges.
For the past decade, the Data Across Sectors for Health (DASH) initiative has been a key resource for equitable, multi-sector data sharing. One example of a DASH-funded program is the WNC Health Network, focused on collecting and expanding access to high-quality community health data to better align service offerings from hospital, healthcare, and other community partners.
Stay Up-to-Date with IPHI
Sign up for our newsletter for news, resources, insights, and more.
Strengthening Social Connections
IPHI collaborates with public health, aging, and youth-serving partners to develop frameworks, strategies, and resources that strengthen social connection and belonging in communities. As part of the 2026 Healing Illinois initiative, IPHI developed resources to strengthen youth connection and belonging, including "Story Circles Reimagined," a guide to using story circles as a community-building tool, and "Healing Illinois - Story Circle Findings," a showcase of findings from a youth-centered study on social connection and well-being.