Student Health Impact Partnership: From Shared Purpose to Shared Action

At Columbia University Irving Medical Center, improving student well-being takes more than good ideas. It takes structure, partnership, and a willingness to tackle challenges that do not belong to any one office, school, or program.

That is the idea behind the Student Health Impact Partnership (SHIP). This interprofessional initiative, launched in 2023 by Student Health on Haven, uses a collective impact framework to advance community-level and system-wide change in student well-being. SHIP was created in response to a clear need. In the 2023 National College Health Assessment, only 50 percent of CUIMC student respondents agreed or strongly agreed that student health and well-being are a priority at CUIMC. Additional data showed 76 percent of respondents reported moderate to high stress in the last 30 days, and 47 percent reported moderate to severe burnout.

SHIP was designed to bring CUIMC students, staff, and faculty together in a structured way to identify priorities, build working groups, and develop strategies for change through a Collective Impact Framework. Collective Impact emphasizes a shared agenda, inclusive engagement, shared learning, and strong coordination across partners. “The collective impact framework matters because student well-being is shaped by many parts of the campus experience, not just one program or office,” explains Jane Bogart, EdD, MCHES, Executive Director for Well-Being and Health Promotion at Student Health on Haven. “SHIP gives us a way to align people, ideas, and action around a shared goal, so the work is more connected, more inclusive, and more likely to create lasting change.”

One sign of progress is the way SHIP has created meaningful opportunities for CUIMC students to help shape the work. Riya Patel, a College of Dental Medicine student involved in the Curriculum Infusion working group, shares that she joined SHIP after learning more about the Columbia Lived Experiences and Needs of Students (LENS) survey findings and the need for stronger support systems. “In our Foundations course, Dr. Bogart showed us a pie chart from the LENS survey that showed that many of the students on the CUIMC campus did not feel supported,” Riya says. “The goals of SHIP resonated with me as I wanted to help improve student health and well-being on campus.” Riya is developing several projects with other students, faculty, and staff in her working group, including curriculum mapping to explore where and how well-being is already infused into the curriculum at CUIMC schools and programs.

That spirit of collaboration extends to staff partners as well. Marisa Enrico, PhD, Director of Student Health on Haven's Counseling Services and co-lead of the Mental Health Literacy working group, says SHIP has helped translate shared experiences into more coordinated support for students. “Being part of SHIP has allowed us to turn shared experiences and insights into coordinated action and strengthen how we support students’ well-being,” she says.

SHIP also helped lay the groundwork beyond the medical center. What began at CUIMC is helping to inform a transformational, long-term effort launching this spring that also uses a collective impact approach to support student well-being across Columbia.

As SHIP continues to evolve, its progress reinforces that lasting change takes shared ownership. CUIMC students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to follow the initiative’s progress, learn more about its ongoing work, and explore opportunities to help shape a healthier, more supportive campus community.