September 2021 Community Benefit Update

We would like to share the following community benefit news and resources with you. Please visit www.chausa.org/communitybenefit for access to all of CHA's updates and resources on community benefit. CHA has also created a special section on its website focused on COVID-19 resources.

Community Benefit 101 – Virtual in 2021
Call for Papers: Health Care Equity
University of Providence and CHA Announce New Certificate Program
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Taking Action on the Climate Crisis
Accelerating Health Equity Conference - Call for Content
Upcoming CHA events
Community Benefit in the News

Community Benefit 101 – Virtual in 2021
CHA's popular program for new community benefit professionals, Community Benefit 101, will be virtual again this year. This format makes the meeting accessible to a wider audience including staff whose work supports the organization's community benefit/community health mission. Taught by experienced community benefit leaders, the program will cover what counts as community benefit; how to plan, evaluate and report on community benefit programs; accounting principles; and a public policy update. Visit the CHA website to register.

Call for Papers: Health Care Equity
CHA and Health Services Research (HSR) have just released a call for papers for a special issue of the HSR journal focused on health equity. The issue will look at health equity broadly including inequities related to race/ethnicity, insurance status, socioeconomic status, age, rural/urban, LGBTQ, disability and immigration status. The goal of the special issue is to feature studies that focus on new methods, measures, practices, policies, theories, observations or insights that will allow health care organizations to better understand the causes and consequences of health care inequities and solutions to eliminate them. Please share the call for papers with colleagues or partners studying these issues. Submissions are due Oct. 15.

University of Providence and CHA Announce New Certificate Program
The University of Providence (UP) and CHA are working together to promote UP's Community Health Investment (CHI) Certificate Program — the first of its kind in the country.

The certificate program is a new 12-month, 16 credit, 100 percent online, master's level academic program that explores health equity and enables students to address specific social drivers such as food insecurity, housing instability, transportation barriers, education, social isolation and financial insecurity. Key themes of the CHI program include compassionate caring for those who are poor and vulnerable; advancing community health, equity, diversity and inclusion; and developing a pathway for equitable workforce development. Visit the CHI certificate program website for more information.

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month — a time to raise awareness on this stigmatized, and often taboo, topic. In addition to shifting public perception, advocates use this month to spread important information to people affected by suicide. Visit the CHA website for links to resources, including approaches health care providers can implement to improve care for those at risk of suicide and policy changes that address the risk and protective factors of suicide.

Taking Action on the Climate Crisis
The United Nation's recently-released report on climate change confirms that human activity has caused widespread, rapid changes in the environment, many of which are irreversible and are worsening deadly weather events, from flooding to heat waves. There is also growing recognition that climate change is a threat to public health, as evidenced in the recent establishment of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The following are ways to take action on the climate crisis:

• Register for CHA's Sept. 23 webinar "Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor: Reducing our Carbon Footprint," featuring Gary Cohen of Health Care Without Harm and CHA members who have made significant commitments to reduce their carbon emissions.
• Ask your organization to sign the Catholic Climate Action Letter which urges President Biden and Congress to work together and enact policies that reduce GHG emissions and protect vulnerable communities that are bearing the brunt of environmental degradation. The letter, which is being coordinated by the Catholic Climate Covenant, will be held open for signatures until Oct. 4.
• Celebrate the Season of Creation from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4. Use CHA resources for this annual celebration of prayer and action to protect our #commonhome.

Accelerating Health Equity Conference - Call for Content
Presentation submissions are now being accepted for the American Hospital Association's Accelerating Health Equity Conference in Cleveland, May 10-12, 2022. Share your success story of improving population health, advancing health equity and creating healthy and equitable communities for all. Submission deadline is Sept. 26. Details at: https://www.cvent.com/c/abstracts/86355cbf-b7d5-4a6c-848a-18566eacbcfd

Upcoming CHA events

Sept. 23 – 1 to 2 p.m. ET – Feast of St. Francis Webinar: Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor: Reducing our Carbon FootprintIn this webinar Gary Cohen, president and founder of Health Care Without Harm, along with representatives from Catholic health systems working to eliminate their carbon emissions will discuss concrete actions health care organizations can take to adopt renewable energy and achieve carbon neutrality. Visit the CHA website to learn more and register.

Sept. 28 – 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. ET – Disaster Response Conversation
From the impact of the pandemic to added floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters, we need to stay as prepared as possible, which includes listening and learning from one another.

CHA is hosting a conversation to hear from officials, ministry leaders working in disaster response and others to share successful practices, preparation tips and insights from those coordinating responses so that as a ministry we can collectively learn from the "how" as well as highlight the "why" of response as a mission imperative. This Zoom gathering is open to CHA members and partners in disaster response. Visit the CHA website to learn more and register.

Oct. 12, 13, 14 – 2 to 5 p.m. ET, each day – Community Benefit 101: The Nuts and Bolts of Planning and Reporting Community Benefit
CHA's highly regarded Community Benefit 101 program, virtual in 2021, will provide new community benefit professionals and others who want to learn about community benefit with the foundational knowledge and tools needed to meet today's challenges. Visit the CHA website to learn more and register.

Community Benefit in the News
View recent articles from Catholic Health World and Health Progress featuring community benefit news and programs from the across the ministry.