The Open School Chapter at the University of Illinois at Chicago recently won a case competition, during which they were tasked with addressing a real-world problem: housing insecurity and homelessness in the local Minneapolis community. The team proposed the HOPE initiative, tying collaborative medical care with partnerships with community stakeholders to create a potential sustainable solution.

The IHI Open School's Recover Hope Campaign aims to promote the awareness, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorders. The Ryerson University Chapter of the IHI Open School has leveraged this campaign to encourage efforts in their surrounding community – partnering with other student-led groups, hosting naloxone trainings, and sharing their harm reduction approach with local stakeholders.

The system of racial stereotyping and stigma, both in healthcare and the media, leads to inequities in the care for patients affected by substance use disorders and chronic pain. Hannah Flath, program coordinator at IHI, describes her own experience with chronic pain as one of privilege and person-centered care. She uses her story to emphasize the importance of reducing stigma and improving equitable care by changing the narrative surrounding sub

A team at Amsterdam University Medical Center reached out to peers, advisors, department heads, and even the board of directors to design a new IHI Open School Chapter. Read about the strategies they applied to build support, the resources they used, and the advice that most inspired them.

When IHI’s Becka DeSmidt first learned that a valued member of the Coaching Fellows program – which offers personal support to learners launching projects – would not rejoin, she was disappointed. Then she read about the Fellow’s conflicting commitment: leading two successful projects to improve access to nutritious food and health care.