The new initiative brings together leaders from healthcare, higher education, and providers to explore innovative approaches to improving health outcomes for individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Bancroft recently convened the inaugural meeting of the OneBancroft Collaborative for Community Health, bringing together leaders from health systems, universities, and community providers across the region to explore new approaches to addressing the evolving healthcare needs of individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
The Collaborative is designed to examine emerging health challenges, share research and clinical insights, and develop innovative solutions that improve access to care and long-term outcomes for individuals with autism and I/DD.
Addressing a Growing and Complex Need
As individuals with autism and I/DD live longer, many face increasingly complex health challenges, including co-occurring medical conditions, mental health needs, effects of aging and barriers to accessing routine healthcare. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration across healthcare systems, academic institutions, and community-based providers.
The OneBancroft Collaborative was created to help anticipate these needs and foster partnerships that lead to new models of care.
“The health needs of individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities are evolving,” said Dr. Karen Lindgren, Bancroft Chief Clinical Officer. “No single organization can address these challenges alone. The Collaborative allows us to bring together leading voices to explore new solutions and create better pathways to care.”
A Network of Regional Partners
Participants in the first meeting represented organizations from Cooper University Health Care, Drexel Autism Institute, St. Joseph’s University, Rowan University, Inspira, MyWellbrook and URBN Steamlab.
The Collaborative builds on Bancroft’s longstanding partnerships, which are already working in tandem to advance research, expand access to healthcare, and explore emerging technologies that can improve quality of life.
Through these partnerships, initiatives are already underway to bring healthcare directly to Bancroft program sites, advance research on autism and aging, and explore innovations such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and virtual reality to support independence and well-being.
A Platform for Innovation and Collaboration
The OneBancroft Collaborative will continue to convene experts through roundtables, meetings, and joint initiatives focused on topics such as autism and aging, mental health, healthcare access, and emerging technologies.
By creating space for ongoing dialogue and shared learning, Bancroft hopes the Collaborative will accelerate innovation and help shape the future of community health for individuals with autism and I/DD.
“At Bancroft, we are proud of the work we do every day to support individuals and families,” Lindgren said. “But meaningful progress happens through partnership. The OneBancroft Collaborative is about bringing people together to imagine and build the future of care.”
The inaugural meeting represents the first step in what Bancroft hopes will become an ongoing forum for collaboration, discovery, and collective action.
