The Ohio Social Prescribing Collaborative is bringing partners together across sectors to advance arts and wellness throughout the state.
What if a doctor’s prescription could include a dance class, a museum visit, a community garden, a walking group or a volunteer opportunity?
That’s the idea behind social prescribing, a model of care that connects people to non-clinical community resources, including arts and cultural activities, as part of a holistic approach to health and well-being. A trained “link worker” or community navigator helps connect individuals with activities that address social isolation, loneliness, chronic conditions and other social drivers of health.
In Ohio, the Ohio Social Prescribing Collaborative (OSPC) is working to build the infrastructure to make that model more accessible statewide. Founded by Cleveland-based arts-in-health consultant and wellness coach Kate Berk, OSPC brings together healthcare professionals, artists, educators, researchers, social service providers and community advocates.
why creativeohio is engaged
This work directly aligns with CreativeOhio’s public policy agenda, which includes “Advancing Arts, Health, and Community Wellbeing” as a key policy platform. The arts play a measurable role in improving community health outcomes, and across Ohio, there are numerous examples of arts organizations that are already partnering with healthcare providers, senior services, veterans’ groups and community agencies to deliver meaningful impact. CreativeOhio sees significant potential in strengthening collaboration between arts organizations and health and human services agencies to expand access, improve outcomes and position the arts as essential infrastructure for healthier Ohio communities.
The Ohio Social Prescribing Collaborative represents an important opportunity to advance that vision. By building connections between healthcare providers and the arts organizations already doing this work, social prescribing can help create new pathways for Ohioans to access the health and wellbeing benefits of creative participation. CreativeOhio looks forward to working with OSPC and exploring potential policy solutions that could help build sustainable connections between Ohio’s healthcare and creative sectors.
learn more & get involved
There are several opportunities to get involved this October. OSPC will host three virtual roundtables: Healthcare Providers & Academic Institutions on October 2; Community Organizations on October 6; and Funders on October 9, each from noon–1:15 p.m., with optional networking afterward.
On October 9, OSPC will also host “Mapping Arts in Health in Ohio,” a collaborative networking and asset-mapping event with Kate Berk and Veronica Thornton, bringing artists, healthcare professionals, educators and community members together to identify Ohio’s arts-in-health resources and opportunities for greater connection.
