HEAL

Many of the digital solutions we relied on during the pandemic will remain, making digital health equity, including digital access and literacy, even more important. As hospitals and health systems design and implement digital solutions, it will be imperative to take proactive steps so all individuals have the opportunity to engage with these tools.

To support hospitals and health systems starting from different points on their journey to strengthen health equity, the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) is preparing four new guidance and resource toolkits to share evidence-based practices to inform organizational next steps. Look for additional IFDHE toolkits to be released throughout 2021.

Focusing on specific strategies and practices will support diverse recruitment on health care boards.

A list of podcasts from the AHA on health equity, diversity, and inclusions.

Inequities in health care are widely noted, yielding poorer quality of care and reduced patient safety, and increased costs. The economic burden of racial health inequalities in the United States is estimated to be $230 billion dollars. Identifying disparities in health care and effectively intervening to mitigate the effect of these gaps is key to attainting a society of healthy communities, where all individuals reach their highest potential for health. Hospital and health systems may utilize a dashboard to provide health care leaders with the necessary information on their journey to advance health equity, diversity and inclusion. A basic level health equity, diversity and inclusion dashboard may include measures to model the American Hospital Association 123forEquity Pledge to include the following: race, ethnicity and language preference data collection, stratification and use, cultural competency training, diversity and inclusion in governance and leadership, and community partnerships.

This resource examines the impact of the social determinants of health on patients and communities as they battle the COVID-19 outbreak and shares ideas and case examples to help hospitals address ongoing social needs.

Help hospital and health care leaders encourage positive health behaviors in patients and communities.

In this webinar, the Center for Community Investment will share the basics about capital investment and how hospitals and health systems can leverage their existing resources for greater impact on health in their communities.

Each fall, the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity partners with various hospital and health systems across the country to provide an 18-20 week paid internship opportunity for academically strong, diverse individuals. This opportunity is aimed at students who have completed their health care oriented graduate degree within the last two years. The Fall Enrichment Program (FEP) offers an immersive on-site experience for those who want to become exceptional hospital administrators and health care leaders.

The six videos and discussion guide included in this resource are designed to provide trustees with an overview of population health strategies, the foundational capabilities that health care leaders are using to redesign care, the importance of developing new partnerships, as well as specific actions for how trustees can participate with their organization’s leadership team to advance health within their community.

This toolkit aims to help hospitals and health systems facilitate sensitive conversations with patients about their nonmedical needs that may be a barrier to good health.

Diversity, inclusion, cultural humility and health equity are imperative for health care organizations, as the U.S. demographic landscape continues to change and regulatory agencies continue to implement requirements to improve safety and quality, reduce health care disparities and create more affordable care for patients. This certificate program works to train leaders who can build a more robust diversity strategy in their health care community.

The Institute's Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) places diverse, graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in health care administration or a related field in 10-week, paid internships within health care organizations.

The AHA's Physician Alliance has developed resources to help clinicians address social determinants of health within a framework that maximizes their skills while helping organizations systematically approach these challenges.

ACHI and the AHA Workforce Center hosted a webinar on how health systems can develop an inclusive, local hiring pipeline through creating more external community connections and internal career paths.

Numerous studies have demonstrated a link between the social determinants of health and key health outcomes. AHA has worked to promote widespread use of ICD-10-CM codes that enable provider to collect data on the social determinants of health.

This toolkit provides checklists to assess the organization's diversity (inclusing leadership), workforce diversity, and patient care while providing action steps to move toward being a more diverse organization. The toolkit also provides case studies of various hospitals who took initatives toward becoming more diverse and their outcomes.

Hospitals and Health Systems Ensuring Access in Their Communities is a compendium of case examples of AHA members from across the country employing the nine emerging strategies recommended by the association’s Task Force on Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities.

"Transportation and the Role of Hospitals" is part of a series of guides and resources released by the AHA on how hospitals and health systems can address the social determinants of health (SDOH).

Hospitals and health systems can implement strategies and programs to improve housing stability, such as neighborhood revitalization, home assessment and repair programs, and care transition programs. This guide recommends a step-by-step pathway for hospitals to consider when developing housing programs. The guide also features five case studies on hospitals and health systems with innovative interventions to reduce housing barriers in their communities.

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Health Research & Educational Trust has developed a playbook of effective methods, tools and strategies to create new partnerships and sustain successful existing ones.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food with either disrupted eating patterns or reduced food intake. Food insecurity, a determinant of health, affected more than 12.7 percent of U.S. households—that is, 15.8 million households—in 2015.

Lessons learned and best practices in identifying community health needs, potential partners, and sustainable partnership structures, as well as recommendations for overcoming obstacles and challenges and assessing partnerships.

Board diversity has lagged behind the growth of increasingly diverse communities. This article looks at the advantage of having a diverse board and how to begin having discussions around building one and doing the work to create a diverse board.

This guide provides a framework for hospitals and care systems to stratify patient race, ethnicity and language data and use them to identify and address health care disparities. In the guide you will find sample dashboards and outlined steps.