Events

#123forEquity Pledge to Act
The CHA board recently voted to support the #123forEquity Pledge to Eliminate Health Care Disparities. The initiative was developed by the American Hospital Association in connection with Equity of Care and the National Call to Action to Eliminate Healthcare Disparities, a collaboration among the AHA, the American College of Healthcare Executives, America's Essential Hospitals, Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. Hospitals that join the pledge agree to:

• TAKE THE PLEDGE – Pledge to achieve the three areas of the Call to Action within the next 12 months.
• TAKE ACTION – Implement strategies that are reflected in your strategic plan and supported by your board and leadership. Provide quarterly updates on progress to AHA and your board in order to track progress nationally.
• TELL OTHERS – Achieve the goals and be recognized. Tell your story and share your learnings with others in conference calls and other educational venues including social media to accelerate progress collectively.

The CHA board suggests that member hospitals consider joining the pledge or taking other steps to address health disparities and cultural care competency. Take the pledge.

See the toolkit described below for helpful resources to eliminate health disparities.

Disparities Leadership Program
The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 Disparities Leadership Program (DLP), a year-long, hands-on executive education program focused exclusively on helping health care leaders achieve equity in quality. The DLP is an interactive, distance learning experience that begins and ends with two-day in-person sessions. The program is designed to help you translate the latest understanding of the problem of disparities into realistic solutions you can adopt within your organization. The faculty is led by Dr. Joseph Betancourt, director of the Disparities Solutions Center (MGH) and former speaker at the CHA annual assembly, an expert in cross cultural care and communication. For more information go to:
http://www2.massgeneral.org/disparitiessolutions/dlprogram_about.html

IFD/HRET Survey on Health Disparities & Diversity Management
December 31 is the deadline for hospitals to complete the Institute for Diversity in Health Management ("Institute") and Health Research & Educational Trust ("HRET") survey about efforts to address health care disparities and improve diversity management practices. Hospital CEOs received the survey in September. Each hospital can log in using its seven-digit AHA ID number, and all passwords are the same: DVERS2015 (uppercase). Results from the survey will be shared at the Institute's 2016 National Leadership and Education Conference, June 21 - 22, 2016, in Philadelphia. In addition, hospitals that complete the survey will receive a summary of the findings and may request a customized performance benchmarking report from the Institute. Access the survey online.

For more information contact Craig Blassingame, project and operations specialist, at (312) 422-2693 or [email protected]. 

IFD Summer Enrichment Program
Looking for a bright, energetic graduate school student to take on a meaty project this summer? Check out the Institute for Diversity in Health Management's Summer Enrichment Program (SEP). The SEP places promising, young, underrepresented graduate students in a 10 week, immersive internship at your hospital or medical center. The SEP interns enjoy a real-world internship experience at your facility and you gain access to the healthcare leaders of tomorrow. Participation in the SEP sends a powerful message that your hospital is committed to diversity and equality at the same time that it gives the students the jumpstart that they need to begin their health care careers.  The program is accepting host site registrations through January, then students and a host site will be matched on Feb. 1. Internships run June 6 through Aug. 12. For more information about how you can host an SEP intern, please visit the site www.diversityconnection.org or email Chris Biddle at [email protected] to schedule an exploratory meeting.

IFD 2016 National Leadership Conference
Registration is now open for the 2016 Institute for Diversity in Health Management National Leadership and Education Conference, "Accelerating Health Equity Through Diversity and Inclusion." At this conference, held June 21-22 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, you will explore diversity management best practices, network with senior health care executives and diversity practitioners, participate in two days of leadership development, gain access to valuable resources that can help your organization and learn from culture competence experts and thought leaders. Get the latest conference details and register today.

Association for Community Health Improvement Conference
The Association for Community Health Improvement Conference will be held March 1-3 at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. Every year hundreds of community health, community benefit, population health and healthy community professionals gather to learn from health experts and exchange ideas at the ACHI annual conference. The conference features the latest in tools and approaches, and attendees have the opportunity to participate in workshops, luncheons, discussion groups and other networking events. Click here to register.

Reports and Resources

The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities
Presentations from the Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities workshop "The Private Sector as a Catalyst for Health Equity and a Vibrant Economy," are now available. The workshop focused on the economic case for promoting health equity. It included several panels of speakers exploring ways to enable a "first of its kind" dialogue that showcases the shared values and visions of health equity promoting strategies of researchers, health equity experts and the business sector. View agenda and speaker presentations.

HHS Report to Congress on Minority Health
The Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published the 2015 Report to Congress on Minority Health. The report summarizes programs, policies and initiatives of agencies in HHS that address minority health and health disparities and demonstrate HHS' commitment to reducing racial and ethnic health disparities and achieving health equity. Click here to read report.

HHS Disparities Action Plan Implementation Progress Report
To highlight the HSS' efforts to reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations and strengthen the nation's capacity to advance health equity, the HHS Office of Minority Health recently released the Implementation Progress Report of the HHS Disparities Action Plan. The report shows how HHS is addressing disparities in access to care, improving quality of care, enhancing workforce diversity and cultural competency, advancing community-based approaches that promote health and wellness, improving data collection and reporting on minority populations, and advancing research on racial and ethnic health disparities. Read more.

New Infographic: The ACA & American Indian/Alaska Native Communities  
Many American Indians and Alaska Natives and their families are eligible to enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace. A new infographic from the HHS Office of Minority Health answers common questions about complying with the Affordable Care Act, defines eligibility for the Marketplace and benefits of enrolling and identifies where to get more information. View the infographic.

New Toolkit: Equity of Care: A Toolkit for Eliminating Health Care Disparities
This toolkit includes a number of resources that can help hospitals increase the collection and use of race, ethnicity and language preference data; cultural competency training; and diversity at the leadership and governance levels. The resources in the toolkit are applicable to hospitals and health systems that are at different points of their diversity and equity initiatives. Access the toolkit.

Recent News Articles
For recent news articles please visit our website at www.chausa.org/disparities/overview.

Share Your Success!
CHA is collecting stories about members' programs to address health disparities and to increase workforce and leadership diversity. If your system or facility has best practice or example to share, please contact CHA.