Better Together Youth Health Alliance

“Better Together Youth Health Alliance” (BTYHA) is our newly established collaborative. The purpose of BTYHA is To improve the health, health equity and wellness of youth in Memphis and Shelby County through a comprehensive and collaborative community-wide approach. Common Table Health Alliance has brought together over 15 initial partners to address the health needs of youth in the greater Memphis region as a unified force to tackle the alarming rates of children’s poor health and preventable diseases as adults. 

 The data reflects a bleak picture for Shelby County youth.  For example, almost 40% of Shelby County youth are considered overweight, obese or morbidly obese.  This will impact their personal life trajectory as well as our community’s future economic and workforce development.  But, there are many factors and barriers that contribute to poor youth health in our community.  To make an impact and turn the tide for these children, there must be a coordinated, unified and systemic approach.  That is where the Better Together Youth Health Alliance comes in.  We will continue to strategically build and expand the reach of the BTYHA and enable key partners to lend their expertise to the collaborative which will provide coordinated interventions, influence public policy and have a greater collective impact that will bring healthier futures to Shelby County youth.

 As part of the overall vision of healthier children and a healthier future, BTYHA must certainly address health disparities affecting our youth, especially those in under-served areas of Shelby County.  A logical starting point is ACCESS!  We must get these children insured and ensure they are getting their well child visits.  Therefore, the Better Together partners are initially focusing on increasing health insurance enrollments of uninsured children and increasing the rates of well-child (EPSDT) visits.  As BTYHA moves forward, we plan to address the many other issues and barriers that are affecting the health and well-being of the youth in Shelby County.