The Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) has joined a national coalition of more than 50 health organizations that are working together to prepare the U.S. for the next public health emergency.
Founded in March 2024 by five leading health care organizations, the Common Health Coalition (CHC ) is committed to strengthening public health and health care collaborations. Using lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, coalition members are working together to identify, amplify, and replicate innovations from across the country to address a resurgence in infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and the overdose crisis.
YSPH initially will work with the CHC to expand the school’s Emerging Infections Program (EIP). Led by Linda Niccolai, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of epidemiology (microbial diseases), the EIP conducts population-based surveillance and research to help inform public policy and public health practices, specifically those dealing with emerging infectious diseases. Being a member of the CHC will help the program expand and increase its reach from Connecticut to across the country. In February 2024, the EIP received a five-year, $19.5 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue the program, which was established in 1995.
The CHC’s mission is defined by four primary areas: providing coordination between health care and public health; emergency preparedness; disease detection; and the exchange of actionable data, particularly to advance equity.
Since its founding three months ago, the CHC has helped advance accessibility to public health resources in the U.S. in a variety of ways. It has enhanced systems to deploy licensed health care staff during times of need, expanded an electronic data exchange for disease reporting, and invested in data infrastructure to promote real-time data sharing to improve health equity.
The CHC's founding members are the Alliance of Community Health Plans, AHIP, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and Kaiser Permanente. The CHC is led by Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, MD, who previously served as the 43rd Health Commissioner of New York City.