AHA shares update on health equity efforts at CMS quality conference

The AHA is committed to accelerating progress to improve health equity and eliminate health care disparities, said Charisse Coulombe, vice president of clinical quality at the AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust, at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Quality Conference today in Baltimore. Speaking at a panel on advancing health equity, Coulombe said nearly 1,400 organizations have signed the AHA’s #123forEquity pledge, and the AHA is sharing best practices and lessons learned with the field. In addition, improving quality with a focus on health equity will be a critical component of HRET’s Hospital Improvement Innovation Network, according to Coulombe. Cara James, director of CMS’s Office of Minority Health, and Aswita Tan-McGrory, deputy director of The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, also shared efforts their organizations are leading to advance health equity. Institute for Diversity in Health Management President and CEO Tomás León moderated the panel. For more on the #123forEquity pledge, visit www.equityofcare.org.