Dr. Jeff Bailey has been named chief strategy officer of Healthy Foundations, a Walker County-based Collective Integrated Healthcare initiative designed to meet the integrated primary health, behavioral health and social needs of the community.
Dr. Bailey is a graduate of Duke University in Durham, NC, and of Cambridge University in England. He also taught at Cambridge and was managing director of the London-based Centre for Social Justice.
Dr. Bailey has worked extensively as a consultant helping organizations reach their full potential.
He stated, “So much of my work is driven by experiences I had after college, living and working in disadvantaged communities around the world. I watched single moms working double shifts in minimum-wage jobs, trying to make ends meet for their kids. I lived next to families with small children living in Section 8 housing that was decrepit and unsafe. And I watched and learned from nonprofits working in these neighborhoods, doing heroic and often unseen work, usually with inadequate resources. I am eager to apply all that I have learned through my previous experiences at Healthy Foundations in order to make it as successful as it can be.”
Dr. Bailey will head the organization’s four areas of focus: mind-body-spirit health and wellness; housing stability to make it easier for people to move forward in other areas of their lives (including housing for veterans and young people aging out of foster care); job training, financial literacy and employment; and education for people at all stages of life.
The programs at Healthy Foundations will use evidence-based interventions and rigorous data to track outcomes. He noted, “All successful organizations keep careful records of what’s working and what’s not and base decisions on that data. Healthy Foundations will adhere to the same practice.”
Dr. Bailey and the programs team will be working with experts from various fields, partnering with local groups and agencies, and providing an integrated and holistic experience for those seeking assistance.
Terry Tucker, president and COO said, “We are thrilled to have someone with Dr. Bailey’s experience and expertise developing and leading our program offerings. We are fortunate that he agreed to join us in this significant role.”
Healthy Foundations’ programs are designed to serve adults (ages 25-64) in need of affordable housing and job training, veterans and first responders with employment issues, and/or in need of affordable housing, children and families connected to child welfare services, young adults (ages 18-25) at risk of becoming homeless, and families living in poverty requiring employment, education and health services.
Mr. Tucker noted that other announcements regarding leadership for Healthy Foundations will be made in the coming weeks. “We are assembling a team that is second-to-none to address the needs of those coming to our campus. At the same time, we’re completing many of the site tests needed to meet our engineering and environmental needs. As this work is done, we’ll be posting summaries of the work to our website and on our social media pages. These are promises we’ve made to the community and we intend to keep them.”