Public/private partners - Key factors in creating a strategic alliance forcommunity health

Background: The rapidly evolving American health system creates economic an d societal incentives for public and private health organizations to collab orate. Despite the apparent benefits of collaboration, there is a paucity o f information available to help local agencies develop partnerships. This s tudy, itself a collaboration between a school of public health (SPH) and a Georgia health district, was undertaken to identify critical factors necess ary to successfully initiate and sustain a public/private community health collaboration. Methods: Professional staff at the SPH conducted 26 standardized interviews involving participants from Cobb and Douglas counties Boards of Health; Pr omina Northwest (now known as Wellstar), a not-for-profit health system; an d community stakeholders. Content analysis of each interview question was p erformed and comparisons were made both within each group and across groups . Results: Trends were identified in the following key areas: vision of healt h care for Cobb and Douglas counties, forces driving collaboration, strengt hs of each organization, critical negotiating issues, and potential communi ty gain resulting from the partnership. Conclusion: A shared vision between potential collaborators facilitates com munication regarding strategies to achieve common goals. A previous history of working together in limited capacities allowed the partners to develop trust and respect for one another prior to entering negotiations. These fac tors, when taken in conjunction with each organization's strong leadership and knowledge of the community, build a strong foundation for a successful partnership.