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HAN member David Ansell with Rush University Medical Center, Kristen Pallok, and Fernando De Maio wrote a case study titled Structural Racism — A 60-Year-Old Black Woman with Breast Cancer and propose three critical strategies for addressing structural racism in health care.
“Structural racism refers to the ways in which historical and contemporary racial inequities in outcomes are perpetuated by social, economic, and political systems, including mutually reinforcing systems of health care, education, housing, employment, the media, and criminal justice... Structural racism compounds the health effects of poverty and other forms of oppression by concentrating poverty in black communities within racially segregated neighborhoods with limited health care options." Starting this year HAN member Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), in partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp., initiated a new campaign called CAPP+ which is a pilot program to conduct asthma-trigger removal in the homes of 10 CAPP patients. The program funds asthma remediation work including home repairs and renovations, averaging about $20,000 a residence. CHOP plans to extend the program next year to 100 homes and more in future years. The program is part of CHOP’s Healthier Together initiative, a five-year, $25 million effort to address community issues such as hunger, violence, and behavioral health.   Kaiser Permanente's Dr. Bechara Choucair writes about the health system's participation in the Healthcare Anchor Network-sponsored Housing for Health Congressional briefing to raise awareness among federal lawmakers and to advocate for actionable policy solutions. He discusses the affordable housing crisis, how it's leading to more unsafe housing which is linked to poor health outcomes -- and what needs to be done to address this crises.
 MetroHealth has pledged to work to increase its hiring of local workers and to use small, minority and women-owned Cleveland businesses as part of a Community Benefits Agreement for construction of its $946-million transformation plan, an 11-story 264-bed hospital on its main campus in Cleveland. Many of the workers trained in the Spanish-American Committee’s Latino Construction Program were Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria.
 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s 2019 list of the healthiest counties in the U.S. focused on access to good and affordable housing as a pressing health issue. Another housing and health report by Enterprise’s Health Begins with Home initiative included survey results showing that renters often delay regular medical visits and forego treatment plans, particularly people who pay a large part of their income for rent. Read More: MarketWatch | Curbed
 MetroHealth announced that all employees will receive a $15 minimum wage increase as part of its commitment to give all full-time employees the ability to earn a self-sustaining income. Cleveland Clinic announced last December that it would raise the minimum wage for hourly employees to $15 by 2020. The minimum wage in Ohio is $8.55 an hour and the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
“MetroHealth’s mission is to care for everyone and that includes our employees,” said Akram Boutros, MD, FACHE, president and CEO of MetroHealth. “It’s important, at every level of the organization, that the 7,800 people here who spend their days caring for others know how important they are, feel valued and are able to support their families. Their financial health is just as important as their physical health.” Read More: Crain | WCPN Chicago Hospitals form the Chicago HEAL Initiative (Hospital Engagement, Action, and Leadership)4/13/2019
 HAN is highlighted in this Shelterforce article, along with Enterprise Community Partners, the Center for Community Investment, and the Nonprofit Finance Fund, as organizations working with health care institutions, community development organizations, and other stakeholders to invest in the health of a community.
The piece included the good work of HAN members Dignity Health, ProMedica, Bon Secours Mercy Health, and Boston Medical Center. “We’re very focused on human resources, the supply chain, and core businesses practices that could more powerfully address the issues of poverty and other disparities,” says [David] Zuckerman, HAN Director. “These are systemic problems, and we’re not going to address them by writing a few more checks. It’s about aligning and leveraging resources differently.” |
