Washington Community Information Exchange Newsletter
| | Making connections on the journey—staying on track | | This fall, the Washington Community Information Exchange (WA CIE) team connected with partners, practitioners, and community leaders across four important conferences, sharing our work and learning from others dedicated to improving health and well-being throughout the U.S. | | American Indian Health Commission Tribal Summit | | We were honored to take part in the American Indian Health Commission Tribal Summit September 14-18. Through conversations throughout the event, we connected with Tribal health leaders and partners from across the state. These discussions helped us better understand Tribal priorities related to public health, opioid response, and environmental health while strengthening relationships and identifying opportunities for future collaboration. We are grateful for the invitation to participate and learn alongside Tribal communities and leaders. | | Bridges to Resolution Summit | | |
On September 15 we participated in the Bridges to Resolution Summit hosted by Syracuse University. There, we learned about national progress to understand how well health and human service referral networks are performing, and the best practices that can move us beyond closing referrals to ensuring that a person’s needs were truly met. This aligns with the vision of WA CIE, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with service providers and referral networks in Washington State to bring together people and technology to make this vision a reality.
Read the Bridges to Resolution report for more about the project and its findings.
| | Civitas Networks for Health Annual Conference | | |
At the Civitas Networks for Health Annual Conference September 22-24, our team joined peers from across the country who are working to advance community information exchange, health information exchange, and data-driven approaches to improving health outcomes. We made key connections with folks working on CIEs in Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Rochester, New York; San Diego, California; and many other places. It was an amazing opportunity to learn what’s working and what we need to be planning for.
We also facilitated a conversation on sustainably financing CIEs. Participants in this dialogue emphasized the importance of staying laser-focused on achievable implementation successes that lead to value-added wins that will grow future champions and users. Monitoring both quantitative CIE experience and the qualitative impacts—being able to tell the story to users and funders—is critical. Other key themes related to the importance of adhering to data standards that simplify the exchange of data, as well as having shared definitions across health and social care sectors so that the data has shared meaning.
| | Washington State Public Health Association-Washington State Environmental Health Association Joint Conference | | At the Washington State Public Health Association-Washington State Environmental Health Association Joint Conference October 13-15, we offered attendees opportunities to learn more about WA CIE and discussed emerging possibilities for collaboration. We also facilitated a session on community co-design, highlighting the importance of partnering with communities throughout the planning, development, and implementation of health initiatives. Our poster presentation showcased findings from our recent user research efforts, sharing insights that are helping shape a more responsive and user-centered CIE experience. | |
Interim Policy Workgroup (IPW)
The IPW brings together partners from across Washington to help shape the policies and procedures needed to support the launch of WA CIE.
Since the group’s first meeting in August, members have met monthly to help establish a strong foundation for policy development that is grounded in collaboration, equity, and community-centered design. We appreciate the thoughtful participation of all members.
View the IPW roster on the WA CIE website.
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Advisory Board
We are thrilled to announce that the WA CIE Advisory Board has been formed and will begin meeting in November. Thank you to those who expressed interest (we received 40+ applications) and to those who have committed to serving.
The Advisory Board works in partnership with HCA and Lead Organization (LO) Comagine Health to collaboratively govern WA CIE, in alignment with the WA CIE vision, mission, values, principles, goals and outcomes. The WA CIE Advisory Board provides HCA and the LO with strategic guidance, cross-sector expertise, and community-informed recommendations to support the governance, design, implementation, and ongoing operations of WA CIE.
View the member roster on the WA CIE website.
We’ll link to Advisory Board meeting minutes and other relevant information on the website in the future.
| | | Vendor partner request for proposal | |
On September 14, WA CIE Lead Organization Comagine Heath released a request for proposal (RFP) to select a vendor partner to help develop and implement the statewide CIE platform. The vendor partner will design, develop, implement, and support WA CIE’s foundational capabilities.
Procurement has reached an important milestone, with 11 proposals received by the October 23 deadline. Proposal review and scoring has begun, and will be followed by demonstrations and key personnel interviews later this month. We remain on track to identify an Apparent Successful Bidder in December.
| | Virtual Public Input Walk-In | |
Join our regular Virtual Public Input Walk-Ins to brainstorm ideas for WA CIE with team members, and to hear summaries of feedback from the Public Input Box. This is a dedicated space for casual conversation where you can connect with the team.
Our final 2026 session was October 22. We will be resuming them in the new year with many more updates to provide and ideas to crowdsource. Stay tuned!
| | The Public Input Box offers a space where the community can provide feedback that will be seen and heard. So, let’s build together! The WA CIE team welcomes public input to inform current and future WA CIE activities. Send a message to the box to share your thoughts and ideas on what is happening, what is planned, and what you want to see. | | We want to connect with you! | | | | |
