In Views from the Field, program officer Brenda L. Henry, Ph.D, M.P.H., and senior program officer Pamela G. Russo, M.D., M.P.H., of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) argue that to attain true health reform, grantmakers and others need to focus on keeping Americans healthier in the first place and not just treating them after they become sick. To improve the health of the communities they serve, write Russo and Henry, foundations such as RWJF need to act upon the fact that health is shaped far more by the places people live, learn, work, and play than by what happens in clinics and hospitals.

To illustrate RWJF’s commitment to increasing public understanding, awareness, and attention to the social and economic factors that affect health, Henry and Russo highlight a new initiative the Foundation launched in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute—County Health Rankings: Mobilizing Action Towards Community Health (County Health Rankings). Building upon existing RWJF projects such as the RWJF Commission to Build a Healthier America, the County Health Rankings help people compare the overall health of their county with the health of all counties in their state, illustrating that some places are much healthier than others.

The aim of the County Health Rankings project is to show people how where we live, learn, work and play influences how healthy we are and how long we live. The County Health Rankings will also help community leaders identify factors that are making residents sick or unhealthy, and help mobilize leaders to develop solutions for removing barriers to health.

Henry and Russo note that as foundations such as RWJF continue their mission of improving the health and health care of the communities they serve, they are in a unique position to effect change through the initiatives they fund—projects that provide education and awareness on key social and economic issues that influence the health of Americans. Grantmakers In Health plays an important role in harnessing the power of RWJF and other foundations by offering them a way to collaborate, share experiences and best practices for improving health.