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Pool Fellowship
The Pool Fellowship for Health is a professional development training opportunity for community leaders in the Lehigh Valley with the goal of increasing our local capacity to address complex social issues that impact health through cross-sector partnerships.
In 2014, The Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust supported The Rider-Pool Foundation in creating the Collective Impact Fellowship Program (now called The Pool Fellowship for Health) to make measurable improvements to complex quality-of-life challenges, such as poverty, homelessness and mental health, within neighborhoods surrounding the Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) in Allentown.
In 2021, The Pool Trust and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) leadership launched the Leonard Parker Pool Institute for Health to take a place-based, community development approach to improving the health of communities over the long term. Now that the Institute for Health is in operation, the program will continue to be the cornerstone of our effort to strengthen community partnerships and increase the local capacity for addressing complex social issues that impact health.
The program brings together leaders from a variety of sectors – including health care, education, regional planning, human and social services and county government – for 140 hours of training and coaching. Nationally recognized faculty provide training in leadership, communication and messaging, systems change, evaluation methods and community engagement strategies.
Our approach
The Pool Fellowship for Health creates a social network of trusted partners that the Institute for Health will be able to work with as we develop strategies around housing, food and nutrition, education and well-being. In addition, it creates a platform for us to engage national leaders and experts who can bring their expertise to leaders in the Lehigh Valley.
We have seen multiple examples of cross-sector leaders working together in new ways to develop creative solutions to issues. Efforts include a partnership among mental health clinicians, health care and law enforcement addressing mental health in Allentown; county drug and alcohol agencies, law enforcement and health care to address the opioid epidemic; and permanent-housing support and health care working together to address homelessness. We will continue to provide access to thought partners and mentors who can help us advance the work in the Lehigh Valley and learn from what others are doing across the country.
Meet the members of our 10th and current cohort
Fellows
The Pool Fellowship for Health's goal is to increase local capacity to address complex social issues that impact health.
Over the past eight years, members of The Pool Fellowship for Health have represented organizations such as Allentown Art Museum, City of Allentown, Lehigh Gap Nature Center and more.