Taylor
How do we build the future of healthcare, in rural Texas?
As health access across America’s heartland continues to decline, new models of care are needed to support rural communities. Our work in Taylor, TX asked us to envision the future of holistic, community-driven care. A model that addresses the social determinants of health, bringing together the clinics, local government agencies, business leaders, churches, civic clubs – the full resources of a community.
Funded by Saint David’s Foundation and working with Lone Star Circle of Care, Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and Opportunities of Burnet and Williamson Country, we spent two months exploring the future of healthcare, intergenerational connection, and food access for the community of Taylor, TX.
Research
During this initial, exploratory phase of work, our team interviewed key partners in Taylor and subject matter experts in farming, food, intergenerational care, and education. Additionally, we conducted secondary and analogous research to understand best practices and exemplary intergenerational and food programs locally and nationally. Finally, we translated those learnings into maps, ingredients, recipes, and plans, providing this program with a roadmap moving forward.
2 Months of Research, Synthesis, Concepting, Design, and Delivery
35 Participants: 11 Stakeholders & Partners, 12 Community Members & Leaders, and 12 Subject Matter Experts
As part of our research, we looked at how the history and physicality of Taylor impact the community and shape how resources are distributed.
In addition to mapping the physical, we also mapped the connections between organizations working in and around Taylor, highlighting potential partnerships.
Design
Throughout our research the community shared a bounty of good ideas; every person we talked to saw a different opportunity for change. Leveraging various resources within Taylor we worked with our partners to translate those ideas into concept “Ingredients” and a “Recipe” roadmap. These Ingredients and Recipes were then workshopped into testable prototypes to explore different interventions moving forward.
Ingredients
Like any good meal, this new intergenerational food program needed quality Ingredients: concepts, driven by our research, and layered with best practices from programs around the country, reflecting the needs of the Taylor community
For each of the 11 Ingredients, we assessed the opportunity for partnership, the potential impact, and a rough estimate of its yearly cost.
Recipe
Every ingredient needs a Recipe, instructions for transforming it into something greater than itself. Our Recipe layers the ingredient concepts over time to create a program roadmap. Each recipe demonstrates a novel approach to community-driven healthcare for Taylor, TX.
Prototypes
Working with our partners we used the Ingredients & Recipe frameworks as fodder to help identify key opportunity areas that we could turn into testable prototypes.
We assessed the viability, opportunity for partnership, and potential impact for each of the 5 final prototypes.
My Role
I was the project lead, guiding the team through our tactical research and design work while developing the strategic vision for this work long-term. I was also responsible for connecting, coordinating, and collaborating with our diverse stakeholders and partners, laying the foundation for this work moving forward.
The team for this work included Arotin Hartounian, Jessica Murray, Rose Lewis, and Amber Lancaster.
Partners
