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= Big Cities Health Coalition = From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) is a forum for the leaders of America’s largest metropolitan health departments to exchange strategies and jointly address issues to promote and protect the health and safety of the 54 million people they serve. Together, these public health officials directly affect the health and well-being of one in six Americans.

The BCHC is a project of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). NACCHO represents the nation's 2,800 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well being for all people in their communities.

Contents
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 * 1Purpose


 * 2Vision
 * 3Mission
 * 4History
 * 5Governance
 * 6Membership and Staff
 * 7References
 * 8External links

Purpose[edit]
The Big Cities Health Coalition (BCHC) is a forum for the leaders of America’s largest metropolitan health departments in the country’s most urban areas. Cities are critically important – both here and abroad – and have a unique ability to impact the health of large numbers of people. Local government agencies are also more likely to be able to move nimbly and are home to many of today’s innovative practices and achievements. BCHC members exchange strategies and jointly promote and protect the nation’s health and safety to help foster a healthier America.

Vision[edit]
Healthy, more equitable communities through big city innovation and leadership

Mission[edit]
Advancing equity and health for present and future generations

History[edit]
The Big Cities Health Coalition was founded in 2002 by Dr. Thomas Frieden, when he was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Dr. Jonathan Fielding, when he was Director of Public Health and the Health Officer at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The Coalition was created to provide leaders of big city health departments with a core network of peers facing similar challenges and experiences.

BCHC was initially run out of the New York City health department, with wholly volunteer staff from member cities. Around 2010, leaders and funders began considering if the Coalition could be more impactful with additional infrastructure and dedicated staff. After much discussion, in 2012, the Coalition moved to the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). NACCHO represents the nation's 2,800 local governmental health departments who work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities.

In the winter and spring of 2015, the Coalition adopted formal membership criteria and standard operating procedures, and affirmed expanding the number of cities represented. BCHC now has 28 members, a growth of about 50 percent, since moving to NACCHO. All cities that meet the current membership criteria are now members.

The Coalition is made possible through the generous support of the de Beaumont Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and has project-based funding from the CDC as well. BCHC members also pay dues to supplement foundation and federal government funding, which provides for “unrestricted” revenue.

Governance[edit]
Elected leadership of the Coalition consists of a Chair, a Chair-Elect, and a Vice Chair, with each serving a one-year term. At the conclusion of the Chair-Elect’s term, he or she will assume the position of Chair for one year. Similarly, the Vice Chair will assume the role of Chair-Elect for one year. Each member has one vote in each election. Elections for the Vice Chair are held in December of each calendar year with new leadership assuming office in January.

The BCHC Executive Committee is made of up the BCHC Chair, Chair-Elect, and Vice Chair, as well as the BCHC Director. The Chief of Government Affairs at NACCHO is also an ex-officio member of the Committee. The Executive Committee has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Coalition when time is of the essence.

These governance procedures were adopted May 2015 and amended in October 2015.

Membership and Staff [edit]
The BCHC is comprised of the lead health official, generally either the health department director or jurisdiction’s health officer, from 28 member local health departments.

Membership

To be eligible for membership, cities must meet two criteria. First, cities must be located in the top 30 most urban areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.2,3 Second, cities must have a population of at least 350,000. Membership is extended to the local governmental public health entity that has primary jurisdiction over the city, whether it is a city or county agency. This definition does allow for multiple health departments from one urbanized area to be members as long as each city individually meets the population threshold. These criteria were adopted by consensus in January 2015.

BCHC members: Staff

Coalition staff are part of the Government Affairs team at NACCHO and include a full time director, as well as a deputy director and specialist, both of whom share their time with other NACCHO teams. The Chief of Government Affairs is a key member of the BCHC team and oversees the director within NACCHO’s structure. The BCHC team is rounded out by a part time Communications Advisor and a part time Senior Adviser. Finance, HR, and other such functions are currently handed by NACCHO as BCHC’s umbrella organization.