Who We Are
The STRONG Accountable Care Community (STRONG ACC) is an independent, regional, multi-sector coalition made up of 400+ Partner organizations serving Northeast Tennessee and/or Southwest Virginia.
STRONG ACC Partners are working together to create bright futures for children and youth, by equipping them and their families with the resources and support they need to achieve their full potential. Our collective impact work focuses heavily on early childhood development, educational success, workforce development, and economic mobility
For a list of our Partners, click here.
Our Bi-State Region
We are proud of our region’s rich heritage, vibrant culture, and natural resources. Most of all, our people are what gives our region it’s unique character. Our region encompasses 2 states, 23 counties, and nearly 1 million residents.
Our Backbone Organizations
The STRONG ACC operates with support from two backbone organizations: Ballad Health and UVA Wise. In collective impact, backbone organizations promote the common agenda, support aligned activities, establish shared measurement systems, facilitate communications, build public will, and mobilize funding. For the STRONG ACC, backbone organizations provide payroll and benefits for staff, office space, professional development, mileage/travel to conferences, marketing/communications support, population health data and evaluation, grants management, and IT support.
Both backbone organizations are accountable to the Leadership Council for the operational and administrative work of the STRONG ACC and the STRONG ACC staff. Both backbone organizations have ex officio, voting seats on the Leadership Council, Executive Committee, and Governance Committee. While the STRONG ACC receives valuable backbone support from Ballad Health and UVA Wise, the coalition is owned, governed, and driven by the region, specifically the Partner organizations that make up the coalition.
Our History
The STRONG ACC was established in 2018 when the merger creating Ballad Health was finalized and discussions ensued about how best to improve the region’s health and wellbeing over the long term. Local leaders decided that an Accountable Care Community would effectively address the social determinants of health through enhanced clinical-community linkages that improve health outcomes and reduce costs.
Over time, the coalition’s purpose expanded to creating a conception to early postsecondary continuum of care, education, and support for the next generation. Hence, the acronym STRONG which stands for Striving Toward Resilience and Opportunity for the Next Generation.
