The State of Health Equity Research: Closing Knowledge Gaps to Address Inequities
A new paper and related infographics published jointly by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and AcademyHealth, The State of Health Equity Research: Closing Knowledge Gaps to Address Inequities, analyzes all U.S.-based, health disparities-focused health services research (HSR) funded between 2007 and 2011. To view infographics of select findings and to download the full report please visit www.aamc.org/stateofhealthequity.

AHRQ Pharmacy Health Literacy Center
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recently released explicit standardized instructions for taking medications that improve patients' understanding and possibly reduce errors while improving adherence. The instructions are available in English, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. These tested instructions for pills follow the Universal Medication Schedule (UMS), which simplifies complex medicine regimens by using standard time periods for administration (morning, noon, evening, and bedtime).  To learn more go to www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/pharmhealthlit/prescriptionmed-instr.html. 

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Building a Culture of Health"
America's health has been influenced by income, education, ethnicity and where people live. The education, training, and practice strategies of the public health workforce must adapt to these changes. This requires new skills and perspectives, some of which are presented in this article. To read more click here.

The State of Racial Inequalities in Health
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently released a paper by Dr. Thomas LaVeist, The State of Racial Inequalities in Health. This paper provides a brief history of the major developments in the national effort to address health inequalities since the Heckler Report in 1985 and explores alternative methods for quantifying disparities, the impact on individual health, broader economic effects, the role of social determinants and directions for future efforts to eliminate health inequalities. Click here to read more.

Diversity in the Physician Workforce
The Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) Diversity in the Physician Workforce: Facts & Figures 2014 provides detailed statistical information on the demographics and practice patterns of the physician workforce graduated from U.S. M.D.-granting medical schools. The report covers topics such as Cultivating a Health Care Workforce, Current Status of U.S. Physician Workforce and Geographic Distribution of the Physician Workforce by Race and Ethnicity, as well as detailed tables with data on race and ethnicity in specific practice areas and states. The online report can be accessed here.

Warrior-Centric Health Program
Military families often face a substantial and unmet need for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other mental, behavioral and physical health conditions. To help address this unmet need, Ronald Steptoe, a U.S. Army veteran, co-founded the Steptoe Group with U.S. Navy veteran Evelyn Lewis, M.D. The company created and implements the Warrior-Centric Health program, the first accredited program to address the socio-cultural determinants of health in multiple generations of service members, veterans and their families. It equips providers with the knowledge to ask the right questions in order to accurately assess, and diagnose, treat and support service members, veterans and their families. To learn more go to www.warriorcentrichealth.com.  

Wheaton Franciscan Minority Nursing Program
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare has developed the Minorities Advancing in Nursing Scholars Program to identify bilingual nurses and nurses of color. The program is part of the system's aim to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse leaders by 3 percent over a three-year period. To read more go to www.hpoe.org/Reports-HPOE/eoc-wheaton-franciscan-healthcare-case-study.pdf.

Disparities Leadership Program Request for Applications
The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is now accepting applications for the 2015-2016 Disparities Leadership Program (DLP). The Disparities Leadership Program (DLP) is a year-long hands-on executive education program focused exclusively on helping health care leaders achieve equity in quality. The program is designed to help health care leaders translate the latest understanding of the problem of disparities into realistic solutions they can adopt within their organization. Applications are due Feb. 13, 2015. For more information go to http://www2.massgeneral.org/disparitiessolutions/dlprogram_about.html.

Summer Enrichment Program
It's not too late to become a host site for The Institute for Diversity in Health Management's Summer Enrichment Program. SEP is still placing promising, young, underrepresented graduate students in a 10-week, immersive internship at your hospital or medical center. While the SEP interns enjoy a real-world internship experience at your facility, you gain access to the health care leaders of tomorrow. If you are interested in hosting an intern, please contact Chris O. Biddle at [email protected] or (312) 422-2658.

January Diversity Dialogue Series
The topic of the Institute in Health Management's January Diversity Dialogue will be Risk Profile of New Exchange Entrants: Implications and Opportunities for Health Care Systems. Featuring Alexis Levy and Brandon Solomon of HealthScape Advisors, this webinar will help participants gain perspective on the financial importance of risk adjustment to health plans and the impact it has on provider-health plan relationships. The webinar will take place Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Click here to register.

Institute for Diversity Regional Symposium - March 4, 2015 
Join the Institute for Diversity in Health Management for a half-day of leadership development, education and best practice sharing in diversity management and disparities elimination at its regional benchmarking symposium March 4, 2015 in Dallas. Hear from health care leaders representing hospitals that were recognized as top performers in "Diversity and Disparities: A Benchmark Study of U.S. Hospitals." Be a part of a roundtable discussion, gain insight from keynote presenters and expert peer panelists. To register, click here.

ACHI Conference March 4-6
The Association for Community Health Improvement (ACHI) will host its annual conference March 4-6, 2015 in Dallas. This conference, designed for health, community benefit, population health and community health professionals, features two days of workshops, luncheons, discussion groups and additional networking events. The Institute for Diversity's regional symposium, "Voices from the Best in Class Hospitals," (see above) will be featured as a pre-conference event. Click here to register.

Equity of Care Newsletter January 2015
Equity of Care is the national collaborative effort of America's Essential Hospitals, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Catholic Health Association of the United States. Through this platform we have issued a call to action to eliminate health care disparities. We invite you to visit www.equityofcare.org to access free resources, shared best practices and information on national collaborative efforts and to see the January Equity of Care Newsletter.

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 a best practice or example to share, please contact CHA.