The adage goes something like this: “If you give a family a fish, you feed them for one meal; if you teach them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime.”
So how in the world, you may ask, does this relate to the work of the Stewards of Change Institute (SOCI) on information-sharing and interoperability? The answer is simple.
Our mission is not to improve the life of any single child or adult in our country by providing them with high-quality health and human services; that’s the one-fish-at-a-time model, and we’re very grateful to everyone working to do it better and better, including some of you who are reading this. But it’s not our approach.
Instead, SOCI’s model – indeed, our mission – is to improve the lives of tens of millions of children, adults and families across the United States by initiating, inspiring and instilling transformational change in HHS at all levels of government, industry and nonprofits.
You get the point. When silos break down, when people and systems communicate with each other, when the sharing of crucial data becomes routine and when social determinants become an integral part of the healthcare equation, efficiency and effectiveness go up, costs and frustrations go down, and everyone benefits. For a lifetime.
At the Stewards of Change Institute, this is our work, our goal, our motivation every day. And, as many of you already know, we are very good (and successful) at what we do.
We believe deeply in our mission, and know that you do as well. So, as you complete your year-end charitable giving, I ask that you make a donation so that we can continue and expand our vital work.
Thank you in advance for your generosity. On behalf of all of us at SOCI, I wish you a wonderful holiday and a healthy, prosperous New Year.