OLYMPIA — The Health Care Authority announced Jan. 29 that awards of $100,000 each — pending federal approval — to fund seven design regions to prepare for designation as Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs).

Kitsap Public Health Department was one of the seven selected design regions are aligned with the state’s Medicaid Regional Service Areas (RSAs), which were designated in November 2014 and will take hold in April 2016.

Kitsap Public Health Department representing the Peninsula RSA for Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties.

Accountable Communities of Health are one component of Healthier Washington, the state’s effort to help ensure better health, better care and lower costs for Washington residents.

ACHs bring together public and private entities to work on shared regional health goals. They are based on the idea that health is more than health care — social determinants of health, such as education and housing, must be considered when addressing population health.

Funding for the ACH design work comes from a federal State Innovation Model grant, which Washington won in December. The $65 million, four-year grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation helps implement key elements of Healthier Washington, including ACHs.

“ACHs are our state’s way of supporting community empowerment and accountability for regional health improvement and innovation,” HCA Director Dorothy Teeter said. “This design phase gives regions the opportunity to flesh out how ACHs will be governed and how they can achieve transformative health outcomes through collaboration.”