Creating Model Health Communities

In September and October of 2014, scholars and a diverse group of leaders in health promotion met on The University of Texas at Austin campus for two half-day summits about the collaborative roles the university might play in the development of model health communities for the benefit of everyone, but especially traditionally underserved populations, in Austin-Travis County. The gathering connected more than 100 stakeholders—including doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, faith leaders, faculty members from multiple disciplines, higher education administrators, consultants, legislative staffers, representatives of city and county agencies, community activists, foundation executives, and nonprofit administrators. This report aims to distill the presentations and conversations that took place at the summits, as well as to suggest some future directions for collaboration and engagement.