Redstone Center's Jeff Hild Delivers Testimony on Three DC Council Bills Addressing Community Adversity, Hospital Spending on Community Building and WIC Expansion

On July 11th, Jeff Hild, Policy Director at the Redstone Center, delivered testimony commenting on three bills before the DC Council Committee on Health. On the Community Health Investment Act, which would require hospitals to spend their community benefit dollars more directly in the community: "The stage is clearly set for hospital community benefit spending to focus on community health improvement and the social determinants of health." On the WIC​ Program Expansion Act: "Increased participation in WIC, as this bill seeks to do, would make the District a healthier and more equitable city... Forty years of research have produced strong evidence that WIC is effective." On the Adverse Childhood Experiences Task Force Act: "We are supportive of the creation of the ACEs Task Force and hope that it can be used as a catalyst to make our city more equitable and resilient... ACEs do not occur in a vacuum, but are the produce of failed or uncoordinated systems... it is important that systems such as criminal justice, housing, education, land-use planning, job-training and others are part of the effort to build resilient communities that can bounce forward from adversity." Find the full testimony here.