The Health Collaborative

11/26/2025

To our employees, members, partners, and community: thank you for everything you do. Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday and a relaxing week ahead. 🍂🍃

11/25/2025

Last month, we talked about the importance of information sharing across systems of care. This universal challenge faces behavioral health providers and the healthcare system at large.

We are continuing our work with Cincinnati Children’s, expanding the scale of the Behavioral Health Patient Attribution System. This innovative strategy is designed to create more cross-system visibility into treatment relationships and provide access to clinically-actionable population health data. We are thrilled to announce four new organizations that will be leveraging this system including:
1. Community Behavioral Health-Hamilton
2. Poppy's Therapeutic Corner
3. Catalyst Counseling
4. Applied Behavioral Services

More organizations streamlining the healthcare process, making it easier for both providers and patients. Applied Behavioral Services

This work is directly in service of the Collective Health Agenda. To learn more about the CHA, visit: healthcollab.org/resources

11/24/2025

Calling All Nurses Ready to Grow Their Careers!

The Health Collaborative Workforce Innovation is excited to host two upcoming Nurse Educator Academies, led by experienced academic and clinical nurse leaders from across the region.
Join us to gain:
• A better understanding of the Clinical Faculty and Nurse Preceptor roles
• Practical professional development
• Continuing Education credits
• Meaningful peer-to-peer connections

Early Bird Registration: Just $50 per academy!
Seats are still available.
Nurse Preceptor Academy - December 11, 2025 | 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Clinical Faculty Academy - January 6, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

To learn more about each academy, visit the QR codes for their brochure links or visit: workforce.healthcollab.org/nursing-instructors
We’d love to see you there!

11/21/2025

✨ Yesterday we celebrated the retirement of the wonderful Lisa Sladeck after 35 years with The Health Collaborative. Lisa will officially retire at the end of 2025, but we couldn’t wait to honor her incredible career and impact.

The room was filled with current staff, past colleagues, and even three THC CEOs—showing just how many lives Lisa has touched. A special highlight was seeing Lynn Olman Mayfield, who first hired Lisa back in 1990, join us for the occasion.

Ask anyone who has worked with Lisa, and they’ll tell you the same: her dedication, positivity, and generous spirit have left a lasting mark on our organization and community. 💗

We are deeply grateful for Lisa’s contributions and celebrated in style by wearing her favorite color. Please join us in congratulating Lisa on a remarkable career and wishing her all the best in retirement!

11/19/2025

Dr. Kate Junger, Director of Systems Integration at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, is pioneering a first-of-its-kind approach to solving a universal challenge: seamless information sharing between hospitals and community partners for more streamlined care coordination and patient experiences. Kate, along with her incredible team and the expertise of more than 10 community mental health organizations, is working with The Health Collaborative to expand this data-sharing infrastructure to additional community partners, with the hope to scale to adult hospitals in the future.

Supported by the Millstone Fund, this deeply collaborative work is focused not only on addressing shared systemic problems in a sustainable way, but also creating the opportunity to transform the lives of thousands of kids and families in our region—and ultimately, to set a new standard for healthcare. Thank you Dr. Junger!

11/18/2025

Our hospital members are critical to the work that we do and this month, we are highlighting the team from Beckett Springs! They do incredibly important work in the Behavioral Health space, focusing on mental health and addiction recovery. “Now more than ever, we need the care and expertise organizations like Beckett Springs bring to our region. We are grateful for their continued partnership,” Deirdre Beluan, CEO of The Health Collaborative.

To learn more about Beckett Springs, visit: beckettsprings.com
Beckett Springs

11/17/2025

Our next Staff Spotlight is on Nicole Volpenhein, our Emergency Response Program Senior Specialist who makes an impact on every department at The Health Collaborative.

Q1: What are you currently working on that you're excited about?
There is always a lot happening in the EP&R space! Right now we are preparing for the upcoming respiratory season. Last winter we experienced the most severe influenza season since 2017–18, so we’re taking a more proactive, coordinated approach with our hospital and public health partners. This includes advocating for state-level policy changes to support hospital surge capacity, developing a centralized resource that helps the community locate free or low-cost vaccines (now available at healthcollab.org), and aligning regional communications to reduce confusion and strengthen public messaging.

Q2: Do you have a favorite part of your job?
I love seeing our work show up in the community. Living in downtown Cincinnati, it’s really special to witness the impact of our efforts play out in real time. It’s also fun that while I technically have 23 coworkers at THC, the nature of our work means I get to collaborate closely with many amazing professionals across the region who come to feel like peers. Our community partners are passionate and committed to the health and safety of the places we live and work. Being part of that strong network and seeing the results of our collective work in everyday life is something I’m proud of.

Q3: Any favorite activities outside of work?
If “aunting” counts as a hobby, it’s #1 on my list. Also topping the charts is going to live music/concerts - a love that started with my dad, who took me to my first concert to see John Mellencamp and ever since has been a staple activity in my life. Beyond that, I enjoy the classics like exercising, reading, playing golf and tennis, movies, and being outdoors.

Q4: What is something you're reading you connect to work?
I usually read to step away from the real world! I recently finished the Red Rising series, a dystopian sci-fi saga set across the solar system where humanity is divided into a rigid, color-coded caste system. The world-building is incredible; the characters are fun and well crafted. While it doesn’t connect to my day-to-day work…I’d happily bring Darrow and Sevro to a meeting to teach us what NOT to do when it comes to promoting a healthy and safe world😊

Q5: If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
Two places top my travel bucket list: Patagonia and Morocco. Patagonia for its natural beauty and endless opportunities for outdoor adventuring. The most stunning region of the world I’ve visited so far are the Rocky Mountains (specifically Glacier National Park and Banff) and I imagine Patagonia as that, only on a much grander, less-traveled scale. My mom, sister, and I can’t wait to hike and kayak our way through the country one day.

Morocco has been calling my name since my time in West Africa. I’m fascinated by the culture and would love the chance to explore the country’s incredible diversity – mountains, desert, and coastline. And the food is a major draw too!

11/14/2025

Want to help shape the future of healthcare career exploration in our region? We're looking for a dynamic intern to join us in 2026 to help with our TAP Health projects. This position is 10 hours per week during the academic year and 20-25+ hours per week during the summer. Visit healthcollab.org/careers to learn more.

11/12/2025

Summer may be over, but our 2025 TAP Health Summer Academy (THSA) students are still diving into healthcare exploration! We were thrilled to participate in another incredible post-THSA opportunity: Healthcare in a Day, hosted by The Christ Hospital Health Network and Hamilton County ESC's LinkedUp Connect. (Thank you to both organizations for allowing our THSA students to be included in your events.) Alongside students from over a dozen high schools, eight THSA students filled an entire row—and we spotted many more THSA alumni attending with their schools! Their enthusiasm was contagious, with hands flying up and curiosity on full display. 🎉

The day kicked off with a warm welcome from The Christ Hospital’s President & CEO, Debbie Hayes. From there, students explored a wide range of healthcare careers, including nursing, medical assisting, lab sciences, pharmacy, and even human resources. They observed surgeries onscreen, learned about sonography and radiologic technology, and heard directly from clinicians in the Joint & Spine Center, Surgical ICU, Heart & Vascular team, and Labor & Delivery. It was an inspiring, hands-on experience from start to finish.

We know it’s easier to attend events like this during the summer or on field trips, so we’re especially grateful to the parents and schools who made it possible for their students to join us. Huge thanks to: Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, Dayton Regional STEM School, Oak Hills High School, Lakota Central High School, Lakota East High School, Madeira High School, and St. Xavier High School; your support means the world!

The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences The Christ Hospital Health Network HCESC - Hamilton County Educational Service Center

11/12/2025

11/11/2025

November is a big month for convening with our hospital members and partners. Recently our Cardio Collaborative had its second convening, where we aligned on our purpose and identified specific goals & tactics designed to secure the necessary funding to executing meaningful change in our region.

Cardiovascular health is one of our region's priority initiatives identified by the Community Health Needs Assessment. To learn more, visit:healthcollab.org/resources

11/11/2025

On Tuesday, juniors in our medical programs attended HealthFORCE, where they explored healthcare career paths, met professionals in the field, and connected with employers and guest speakers.

Thank you to The Health Collaborative for hosting such a meaningful event that helps our students build connections with healthcare experts and valuable career resources!