St. Luke’s recently gathered more than 100 representatives from nonprofit and community-based organizations at its annual Community Health Improvement Fund celebration at JUMP in downtown Boise.

The event is an important opportunity for partners to gather, celebrate, network and share the work they do to serve the community. For St. Luke’s, it serves as a reminder of why there is investment in these valued partnerships—to further the health system’s mission.

The celebration recognizes and celebrates the collective work of nonprofits, projects and programs supported by St. Luke’s CHIF grants.

One attendee shared that “it was an honor to spend a few hours with the amazing group of individuals and nonprofits making a big impact on our community health.”

CHIF grants are awarded to organizations across St. Luke’s footprint, with priority given to programs and projects that support St. Luke’s Community Health Needs Assessment significant health needs and prioritize collaborative and equity-driven approaches to address community health needs or social determinants of health.

“St. Luke’s is showing what it means to build strong partnerships so [we] can live the mission of improving the lives of the people in the communities we serve,” said Tyler Norris, St. Luke’s advisor and social entrepreneur.

St. Luke’s mission meets community activation

Attendees also enjoyed an educational enrichment session from Norris and Dr. Megan Smith focused on youth mental health.

Norris has collaborated with St. Luke’s for more than a decade, helping the health system develop strategies around behavioral health and co-hosting events such as the Hiding in Plain Sight community screenings and discussions.

Dr. Smith is an associate professor at Boise State University’s School of Public and Population Health and founding director of Communities for Youth, an Idaho-based organization focused on community-engaged, upstream prevention currently working on the youth mental health crisis.

“While there’s work to be done at the Idaho state level,” Norris said. “The majority of what it’ll take is local.”

“From a St Luke’s perspective, it is very expensive to manage chronic diseases when there are underlying behavioral health concerns. A person suffering from depression is going to have a more difficult time managing their diabetes.”

This month, the St. Luke’s Center for Community Health in the Wood River Valley put together resources for families, including a podcast, to help their children improve sleep habits. Lack of sleep was identified by area youth as an area of concern and is a topic that is being tackled by St. Luke’s, along with the Blaine County School District and Communities for Youth.

Addressing social needs, including access to mental and behavioral health resources, and even housing and healthy foods, alleviates stress that increases the risk of depression and other conditions.

St. Luke’s would not be able to achieve their mission without partnerships and collaboration.

“Thank you for the inspiring experience,” one attendee said. “And the epic exit down the JUMP slide!”

Three organizations also presented their work at the event.

• Representing Valley County, Ignite Idaho Family Resource Center shared its origin story. In 2021, the center stepped up to fill a need to connect individuals and families, specifically those experiencing abuse, to needed resources. A 2023-24 CHIF grant was used to build the resource center where it offers behavioral health services, parenting classes, youth support groups and assessment center in one location.

• The Wood River Community YMCA’s executive director Mike Wolter shared photos from its SummerBridge program. The program demonstrates the value of partnership as the Blaine County School District, College of Idaho, Sun Valley Community School, Far + Wise (another CHIF grant recipient), and Lee Pesky Learning Center teamed up to provide educational enrichment to recapture lost learning days and provide adventures and field trips to students.
  
  
• The #YouAreMore campaign, a student-led effort that started at Mountain Home High School, shared a video showing their work to raise awareness and create inclusion around youth mental health. Their CHIF grant was used to purchase shirts, bears, and other campaign-branded materials to share with students of all ages in Mountain Home.