What do an inner city educational organization, the local housing authority, a senior services agency, a faith-based organization, and a community health provider all have in common? They all want to improve their community's health, and they are pooling their time and resources to make it happen.

This practical guide gives healthcare leaders the tools they need to reach beyond the walls of their own organizations to create healthier communities:

• Ideas about what type of partnership to initiate
• Methods for monitoring project implementation
• Tips on assessing outcomes
• Examples of a wide variety of collaboration efforts
• Lists of funding and partnership resources

While this book inspires healthcare leaders with examples of successful partnerships, the authors also devote a lot of attention to the potential pitfalls of community collaboration. Everything from differing opinions of what the collaboration should accomplish to staff animosity can derail the best intentions and well-funded efforts. These examples of challenging partnerships serve as a roadmap for future collaboration efforts. They are one of the book's most useful resources.