The Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement (ARCHI) has received one of the 2018 Community Health Leadership Awards sponsored by U.S. News & World Report and the Aetna Foundation for its commitment to improving community wellness by addressing social determinants of health.

Kathryn Lawler, ARCHI’s executive director, was recognized as part of the annual Healthcare of Tomorrow conference in Washington, D.C., in November. Lawler and ARCHI will be honored locally at ARCHI’s quarterly breakfast on Dec. 5 at the Commerce Club in Atlanta.

“The Georgia Health Policy Center has been a proud and early supporter of ARCHI, as it reinforces our commitment to improving local health here in the community we call home,” says Dr. Karen Minyard, chief executive officer of the Georgia Health Policy Center. “To meaningfully improve health and well-being at the community level requires many different organizations working together and in just a few short years we have built significant partnerships in Atlanta to help residents engage around their health and to bring local health systems together.”

The four Community Health Leadership Award honorees participated in a panel discussion about social determinants of health. Lawler said jobs are the most immediate health-related challenge for residents in the Atlanta area, and with a very low unemployment rate, ARCHI focuses on the supports and services individuals living in some of Atlanta’s most unhealthy neighborhoods need to acquire and maintain high-quality employment.

“We have to have an approach in our community that’s much more about supportive employment and supporting individuals and families,” said Lawler. “We know the people who are having trouble getting jobs are the same individuals who can’t access mental health services, who don’t have good access to child care, who don’t have transportation and don’t have housing, and still are probably uninsured.”