Health is More than Just Healthcare

The clinical treatment we receive is only one factor influencing our overall health. The health-related decisions we make every day and the societal influences in our lives are much more important to our overall physical well-being but receive a lot less attention and resources.

The Coalition for Better Health was founded in 2019 and has worked with dozens of partners across Tennessee to address the state’s extraordinarily high rates of behavior-related chronic disease.

The Coalition’s primary initiative is the Preventive Health Network, a program modeled on proven outcomes and real-world experience that can improve health and reduce costs. The program enables trained and certified practitioners to provide preventive care in clinical settings and workplaces to prevent and reduce obesity and tobacco use, the two leading causes of preventable chronic disease.

Leaders for Change

Board of Directors

Jim Bailey, M.D., Executive Director, Tennessee Population Health Consortium

Jim Gingrich, Founder, Elk Mountain Partners

Richard Johnson, President, Coalition for Better Health

Larry Martin, Former Commissioner of Finance and Administration, State of Tennessee

Todd Norris, Senior Vice President, Ballad Health

Wright Pinson, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Vanderbilt Health System

Rev. Kenneth Robinson, M.D., President and CEO, United Way of the Mid-South

Funding Partners

Our work is made possible by the generous support of these organizations.


First Horizon National Corporation

AllianceBernstein

Eastman Chemical Company

HCA TriStar Division

Pilot Flying J

Clayton Homes

Amerigroup

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Ballad Health

Pinnacle Financial Partners

FirstBank