EVENTS

Environmental Justice Webinar
The Catholic Climate Covenant will present a webinar focusing on environmental racism and climate justice, Laudato Si': A Framework for Climate Justice, on Monday, July 25 from 3 to 4 p.m. (Eastern). The event will address how climate change disproportionately impacts people of color, in particular African American and farmworker communities; how Pope Francis' encyclical, Laudato Si', can be a framework for understanding and acting on issues of climate justice and how people of faith can respond to environmental racism. CHA is a member of the Catholic Climate Covenant. Presenters include Dr. Sylvia Hood Washington, environmental epidemiologist, engineer and first African American scholar to publish a formal history of environmental injustices in the United States. To join the webinar, register here.

July Diversity Dialogue — Serving the Disabled
Join the Institute for Diversity in Health Management's monthly Diversity Dialogue on July 27, 2016, at 1 p.m. ET for a webinar on "Serving the Disabled: Best Practices for Becoming a Provider of Choice." Nadine Vogel, chief executive officer of Springboard Consulting, will lead a discussion on best practices for delivering competent care to people with disabilities. This session will provide an overview of practical applications relative to new legislation on various factors affecting the disability community including communications, accessibility, policies and procedures and services. Participants also will gain insight on specific dos and don'ts when interacting with disabled patients to help avoid blunders and improve the patient experience. Click here for registration instructions and to learn more about the presentation, or contact Pamela Janniere, (312) 422-2691, [email protected]

The 2016 Healthcare Quality and Equity Action Forum
Registration is now open for the 2016 Healthcare Quality and Equity Action Forum hosted by the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital Sept. 29-30 at the Seaport Boston Hotel. The Forum will provide essential strategies to improve quality, achieve equity and deliver high-value health care to diverse populations. Leaders from multiple disciplines and health care organizations who work in the areas of quality and safety; disparities, diversity and equity; health policy; and health care design and delivery; as well as anyone interested in these fields, will find the Forum to be a unique and worthwhile experience. For more information and to register for the forum click here. Early bird registration is available until July 31.

Institute for Diversity Fall Enrichment Program
Looking for a bright, energetic graduate student to take on a meaty project this fall? Check out the Institute for Diversity in Health Management's Fall Enrichment Program (FEP). Building on the success of the Summer Enrichment Program, the newly launched FEP places promising, young, underrepresented graduate students in a 10 week immersive internship at your hospital or medical center. Participating in the FEP program sends a powerful message that your organization is committed to diversity and equality at the same time that it gives the students the jumpstart they need to begin their health care careers. The program is accepting hosts sites throughout July and August. Internships will run from October to December. For more information, go to: http://www.diversityconnection.org/diversityconnection/education/FEP.jsp?fll=S8 or contact Jasmine Clark (312) 422-2658 or [email protected]

National Academy of Sciences Webinar: Accounting for Social Risk Factors in Medicare Payment: Criteria, Factors, and Methods
On July 20, at 1 p.m. ET, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the Academies) will host a public webinar to discuss the findings and conclusions of its recent report, Accounting for Social Risk Factors in Medicare Payment: Criteria, Factors, and Methods. The third in a five-part series on accounting for socioeconomic status in Medicare payments, this report provides guidance on which factors could be considered for Medicare accounting purposes, criteria to identify these factors and methods to do so in ways that can promote greater health equity and improve care for all patients. Register online. Downloaded the report.

REPORTS AND RESOURCES

Kaiser Family Foundation: New Chartpack Highlighting Key Facts on Health and Health Care by Race and Ethnicity:
Disparities in health and health care remain a persistent challenge in the United States. Disparities not only result in inequities but also limit continued improvement in quality of care and population health and result in unnecessary health care costs. This chartpack provides data on demographics, health access and utilization, health status and outcomes and health coverage by race and ethnicity to provide greater insight into the current status of disparities. Where data are available, it examines measures by six groups: White, Asian, Hispanic, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. View the chart collection.

National Academy of Sciences Workshop Summary: The Promises and Perils of Digital Strategies in Achieving Health Equity 
The Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities was created by the National Academy of Sciences (formerly The Institute of Medicine) to enable dialogue and discussion of issues related to the visibility of racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care as a national problem, the development of programs and strategies to reduce disparities, and the emergence of new leadership. The Roundtable held a workshop in Oct. 2014 focusing on the use of digital health technologies to improve health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority populations how community engagement can improve access to high-quality health information for members of these groups, and on the models of successful technology-based strategies to reduce health disparities. Read the summary.

CMS Public Use File for the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) Optimized for Health Disparities Researchers
The MCBS is the largest federal health survey of the Medicare population. CMS has made available a public use file with 2013 data, a powerful new tool for researchers studying health disparities. The MCBS 2013 Access to Care public use file (MCBS PUF) provides the first publically available MCBS file for researchers interested in the health, health care use, access to and satisfaction with care for Medicare beneficiaries, while providing the very highest degree of protection to the Medicare beneficiaries' protected health information. The development of the MCBS PUF was supported by the CMS Office of Minority Health as part of their activities to increase the availability of data to monitor the impact of CMS programs in improving minority health and eliminating health disparities. Additionally, the file was designed to facilitate use of the file to explore issues related to health equity and health disparities. Download the file.

Office of Minority Health: National CLAS Standards Resource
The HHS Office of Minority Health released the first compendium of state-based activities to implement the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (National CLAS Standards). The Compendium of State-Sponsored National CLAS Standards Implementation Activities and a new Tracking CLAS tool allow visitors to learn about state-based CLAS-related efforts, including legislation and other activities related to cultural and linguistic competency training for the health care workforce. Read more.

The Center for Disease Control: Health, United States Annual Report
The Centers for Disease Control has released its 39th annual overview on national health statistics trends.  Health, United States, 2015, has a special focus on racial and ethnic disparities. The report includes 114 trend tables on four major topics: health status and determinants, health care utilization, health care resources, and health care expenditures.  In additions to the full report, the CDC has prepared an In Brief summary version. The complete report, In Brief, and related data products are available on the Health, United States website.

The Center on Society and Health, Virginia Commonwealth University: A Study in Contrasts: Why Life Expectancy Varies in Northern Virginia
The Center on Society and Health conducts research on the effect of social factors on the health of populations. Dr. Steven Woolf, the Center's director, presented at the 2016 CHA Assembly. The Center's new report supported by the Northern Virginia Health Foundation, includes an interactive map highlighting differences in life expectancy, income, educational attainment, and racial composition of neighborhoods in Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Prince William County and the cities they surround. While Northern Virginia is among the healthiest places in the United States, residents here do not all enjoy uniform outcomes. Download the report and to access the Center's many resources.

Integrating Health Literacy, Cultural Competence, and Language Access Services: Workshop Summary
The National Academy of Medicine's Roundtable on Health Literacy held a public workshop on October 19, 2015 on the integration of health literacy, cultural competence, and language access services, to better understand how the dynamic forces operating in health care today impact the delivery of services in a way that is health literate, culturally competent, and in an appropriate language for patients and their families. The workshop summary describes the event's presentations and discussions, and it highlights important lessons, practical strategies, and opportunities for improving the integration of health literacy, cultural competence, and language access services in the delivery of health care in the United States. Read the summary.

ARCHIVED WEBINARS, WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS

IOM Community Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States: Meeting 3
The National Academy of Sciences' (formerly the Institute of Medicine) Committee on Community Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States was established to assist The Robert Wood Foundation's Culture of Health Initiative in delineating causes of and solutions to health inequities in the United States. The Committee's most recent public meeting was held April 27 in Irvine, Calif., with presentations on topics related to health disparities and community programs designed to achieve health equity.

» View the agenda, speaker slides, video recordings and biographies from the meeting
» Review the proceedings of the Jan. 6 meeting
» Review the proceedings of the March 7 meeting

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.