In 2004, the Coalition was selected as one of fifteen communities nationwide to attend the Institute of Medicine Quality Chasm Summit entitled "Crossing the Quality Chasm: Redesigning Care and Improving Health in Priority Areas."
The GFHC was recognized for implementing systems interventions in heart failure—one of the summit’s priority issues. Participating groups shared the lessons they learned with national leaders, covering a variety of healthcare areas—from depression and asthma, to diabetes and pain control.
Of the 90 communities that were invited to attend the summit, 45 were self-nominated; and of those, just 15 were selected. Of those 15 communities, only Flint and Rochester, New York, had multi-functional coalitions addressing a broad range of interventions. Notably, the current Coalition President and CEO, Stephen Skorcz, was formerly the President of the Rochester Area Health Corporation.
The Coalition was truly honored to be one of the few organizations nationwide recognized for its excellence in health systems interventions. As a result of the conference, the Coalition was contacted by United States Senator Joe Lieberman’s (ID-CT) office to learn how communities such as Flint monitor quality, involve providers of health care, and focus on racial disparities.