AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity has been working for more than 25 years to advance health equity, diversity and inclusion by supporting hospitals, health systems, patients and communities. While the health care field has made some progress, we still have a long way to go.
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By integrating behavioral health into physical care and tapping into community partnerships, hospitals and health systems can develop culturally competent clinical solutions to better serve historically underrepresented individuals, writes Manish Sapra, M.D., executive director of the behavioral health service line at New York-based Northwell Health. Read more in this blog, and find more resources on AHA’s Minority Mental Health Awareness Month page.
COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black, Latino, Native Americans and other communities of color is well-documented and deeply troubling. It’s also the latest in a long history of health inequities and health disparities affecting racial minorities in our society.
The AHA, in conjunction with UnidosUS and the National Urban League, has created a video touting opportunities to participate in its Trustee Match Program.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology last week released version 2 of the United States Core Data for Interoperability, which gives health IT stakeholders a clearer direction toward the standardized and electronic exchange of data focused on social determinants of health, sexual orientation and gender identity.
COVID-19 has been a learning experience on many fronts. Every facet of our health care system has been affected by the pandemic — from providers to patients to hospital and health system CEOs — and we will be sorting out lessons learned for some time to come.
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, events sparked by the murder of George Floyd increased the constant exposure to stress in communities of color, a detriment to one’s physical and mental health, writes Kimberlydawn Wisdom, M.D., senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, and chairperson of AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity Leadership Council.
The total number of cancer screening tests women received through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program declined by 87% for breast cancer and 84% for cervical cancer during April 2020 in comparison to the past 5-year averages for that month, the CDC reported recently.
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, events sparked by the murder of George Floyd increased the constant exposure to stress in communities of color, a detriment to one’s physical and mental health, writes Kimberlydawn Wisdom, M.D., senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, and chairperson of AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity Leadership Council. In this blog in conjunction with July as Minority Mental Health Awareness Month read her call to action to making behavioral health accessible to all.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health awarded local governments $250 million in grants to work with community-based organizations to increase health literacy about COVID-19 vaccination, mitigation and services among underserved and racial and ethnic minority populations.
Responding to a June 20 op-ed published in the Washington Post, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said the alarmist headline misrepresented the facts.
In Bellingham, Wash., the PeaceHealth clinic is using community health workers, or promotoras, to help educate farmworkers in rural communities about the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
As the AHA reflects on Juneteenth, the June 19 federal holiday recognizing the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, it also considers how we must strive for equity in health care and beyond, writes Joy Lewis, AHA’s senior vice president for health equity strategies.
A history-making event that changed the lives of Black Americans more than 150 years ago is now being recognized as a federal holiday. With the stroke of a pen, President Biden signed a bill establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day – commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S..
On this AHA Advancing Health podcast, Leon Caldwell, AHA’s senior director of health equity strategies and innovation, talks with Keith Ellison, program director of the Urban League of Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Center, about how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the pivotal role local businesses play in advancing equitable health outcomes, as well as the challenges and opportunities they face during the road to recovery.
Only 11% of pregnant women in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Safety Datalink, which includes vaccine safety monitoring data from nine integrated health systems, were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by May 8, compared with 25% of non-pregnant women, the CDC reported.
The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded 14 organizations grants to hire people to support COVID-19 vaccination and outreach in vulnerable and medically underserved communities.
The Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network has created an advisory team to help identify and prioritize opportunities to advance health equity through alternative payment models and inform its priorities and initiatives.
Hospitals and health system leaders are committing to increasing diversity and inclusion in the board room.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that rates of breastfeeding initiation have increased during the past decade but racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding persist.