Health Happens Here: How Furman is Bringing Community Health Education to People

From Community Health Conversations to a new podcast and online community health courses, Furman’s Institute for the Advancement of Community Health is building a shared language around what it really means to be well together.

At a recent Community Health Conversation event focused on housing insecurity, a woman in the audience shared that she had once been unhoused. The conversation happening in that room, with clinicians, nonprofit workers, university researchers and neighbors sitting side by side, mattered to her. She felt seen.

That moment is exactly why creating educational programming and a shared dialogue around community health exists.

Advancing the Discussion

Health isn’t just what happens in a doctor’s office. It’s where we live, how we connect and whether we have stable housing or access to green space. Furman’s Institute for the Advancement of Community Health’s (IACH) education programs are built on that premise and on the belief that when people understand what shapes health, they’re better equipped to be part of the solution.

“We’re really trying to help people see how social or non-medical drivers of health impact well-being for individuals and our community as a whole,” said Loretta Crowley, IACH director of education. “If our community is healthier, we’re all healthier.”

IACH draws its programming directly from community health needs assessments conducted by local health systems and the state health improvement plan, which are built from local voices through focus groups, surveys and public data. These assessments don’t revolve around trends but respond to what people say they need.

Community Health Conversations: Meeting People Where They Are

Now in its second year, the Community Health Conversations series takes Furman’s partners and expertise out of the classroom and into the broader public to discuss what community health is, how it affects us locally and who’s working in that space. Grounded in data, each conversation is designed to be timely and evidence-based, giving participants opportunities to get more involved. The quarterly, free events are open to the public and bring together Furman faculty researchers, healthcare partners and nonprofit leaders doing frontline work.

 

“We want to advance the dialogue around community health,” said Kerry Sease, IACH executive director.

The events aim to create a collaborative, multi-disciplinary educational conversation that creates a shared language accessible to people in any role.

“We can only improve the health and well-being of our community by working together,” said Loretta.

This year’s series has been organized around the central theme of building resilient communities. Events covered housing, social connection and economic mobility, with an emphasis on what strengthens resilience. That theme continued through to IACH’s annual conference, where the keynote speaker addressed how to foster health and belonging.

Building Brighter Tomorrows

The Building Brighter Tomorrows Conference brought together the themes, conversations and partners that have defined the year’s programming. Sessions examine what truly shapes health: social drivers, caregiver support, trauma and resilience. Drawing on both local and national perspectives to elevate community-led solutions and foster collaboration across sectors, the conference featured a keynote on how intentional planning can cultivate the kinds of social connections that improve health outcomes over the long term.

“We try to make sure that there’s a thread running through all of our offerings across the year,” said Loretta. “So, by the time you reach the conference, you’ve been building toward this.”

A New Entry Point: The Community Health Exchange Podcast

This year, IACH added a new layer to its education offerings: a podcast. The Community Health Exchange features a new episode every two weeks and is designed for anyone curious about local health.

The show rotates through four topic areas:

• Community Health – exploring the factors that shape health for all of us.
• Partners in Practice – spotlighting the local organizations doing on-the-ground work.
• Community Voices – centering lived experience and community-based research.
• From Classroom to Community – demonstrating how student learning translates into real-world impact.

Each episode is an invitation to learn something new, think differently about health and discover where individuals might fit into the work.

The podcasts are available on Apple and Spotify.

Going Deeper: Credentialed Courses in Community Health 

For those ready to go further, IACH has recently launched another new offering: a series of free, online, credentialed learning courses in community health. 

Made possible through a grant from the South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare, the program consists of five foundational courses that focus on key factors for community health, covering topics like faith and spirituality, non-medical drivers of health, research and evaluation, rural healthcare dynamics, and health policy and financing. Completing all five courses earns a Credly badge in Foundations of Community Health from Furman University.

The courses are open to anyone with an interest in health, but will be especially relevant for community members, social workers, community health workers, nurses and physicians.

Three additional courses on health-harming legal needs, inclusive healthcare and community engagement are in development.

A Collaborative, Community-First Approach

From in-person conversations to a growing digital footprint, IACH is expanding how and where community health education happens. Each new offering creates another opportunity for people to engage, learn and contribute. Together, these efforts are building something larger than any single program: a more informed, connected community equipped to shape its own health and future.