Eskenazi Health has named Kimberly McElroy-Jones, Ph.D., DMin, director of Community Partnerships for Community Health. In her new position, Dr. McElroy-Jones will lead Eskenazi Health’s efforts to enhance social care through strategic relationships with community-based organizations.
The appointment of Dr. McElroy-Jones follows the Eskenazi Health Foundation’s $500,000 grant to enhance work already underway to integrate social determinants of health into clinical care at Eskenazi Health.
“Dr. McElroy-Jones’ experience and expertise will enable Eskenazi Heath in building the meaningful community partnerships critical to addressing the social and environmental contributors to health,” said Lisa Harris, M.D., chief executive officer of Eskenazi Health. “By addressing these community-level determinants of health that Dr. McElroy-Jones understands so well, we will be much better positioned to truly improve the health and well-being of our patients and our community.”
Dr. McElroy-Jones’ role at Eskenazi Health will include developing and implementing a strategic plan to strengthen and expand community partnerships focusing on social determinants of health as well as other community outreach activities designed to improve population health. In addition, she will collaborate with the Eskenazi Health Foundation to help cultivate relationships and attract philanthropic support for social determinants of health and related programs.
“I am excited to join the team to help assist in moving this initiative forward to continue to cultivate and develop relationships with our broader community,” Dr. McElroy-Jones said. “Ultimately, developing strategies that can help improve the health of our community is the broader goal and I’m excited to get started.”
Dr. McElroy-Jones comes to Eskenazi Health with more than 10 years of experience in project management, operations management, strategic development and training and facilitation. She most recently served as the director of Ministries at Eastern Star Church and as executive director and principal investigator for the Metropolitan Indianapolis – Central Indiana Area Health Education Center. She is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives, a member of the board of the Indiana Healthy Marriage and Family Coalition, a former board member of Children’s Bureau, Inc. and Outreach, Inc. and a former board chair of the Avondale Meadows YMCA. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Late last year, Eskenazi Health announced a partnership with the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI and many other community organizations to assess how and where social determinants of health are impacting Eskenazi Health patients. During the past several months, Eskenazi Health has worked to identify ways patients can be referred to in-house or community-based programs and services that complement their medical care. The effort has included the addition of Aunt Bertha, a platform that connects people seeking help with verified social care providers.
“We are building on a long history of implementing strategies to address social determinants,” said Dr. Christopher Callahan, chief research and development officer of Eskenazi Health. “We want to meet people where they are and help them connect with the tools and resources they need to live healthful lives.”
Dr. McElroy-Jones earned her bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Indiana University – Purdue University at Indianapolis in 2001. She earned a Master of Science degree in Adult Education from IU Indianapolis in 2004 and a Master of Health Administration degree from the University of Southern Indiana in 2013. Dr. McElroy-Jones also earned a Ph.D. in Organization and Management at Capella University in Minneapolis. In 2015, she graduated with her Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
