TriHealth Bridge

September 27, 2024

 

TriHealth Center for Health Equity Team - First picture: Jana Carter-Clark, Katrina Rugless, Dr. Thomas Shockley, BFR organizer Tracey Artis, Kitalena Mason, Tira Williams, Josh Jennings; Second picture: Deepak Narang; Third picture: O'Brian Davis.

Having access to quality, unbiased care should not be optional. However, many in our Greater Cincinnati community are faced with challenging decisions to being proactive in their healthcare, pay for needed prescriptions or pay bills such as rent, and utilities or buying food. TriHealth too faced a choice: ignore this reality or learn what the community needs are and be the engine to drive an integrated approach in caring for our patients and the community.

More than one year ago, The TriHealth Center for Health Equity was created to organize efforts and resources to proactively address social determinants of health and identify health disparities in our healthcare system. Health equity is having a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible regardless of race, ethnicity, age, ability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, nationality, socioeconomic status, and geographical location. Before listing actions being taken by the Center for Health Equity, here’s a reminder of what are social determinants of health and health disparities.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the community where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Common factors include food insecurity, access to reliable transportation and lack of safe housing. By leveraging community-based partnerships with other regional health systems, public health organizations, social services and more, we hope to address SDOH that are influencing health outcomes.

Health disparities are avoidable differences in health outcomes and their causes among groups of people. Health disparities are not a problem that can be solved overnight as it is not an issue that arose overnight. Disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, geographic location and more have unfortunately been with us since the founding of our nation. With the backing of bi3 Fund, we are tackling these health disparities head on.

Actions In Motion

  • Growing Team: Since the launch in Summer 2023, the team has added specialists in communications (Kitalena Mason), data (Deepak Narang), and projects (O’Brian Davis), to join Chief Health Equity Officer, Dr. Thomas Shockley, Center for Health Equity Director, Tira Williams, RN, and DEI+B leaders, Jana Carter-Clark, Josh Jennings, and Katrina Rugless.
  • Chronic diseases in communities of color: Three projects happening this fiscal year will focus on building solutions to address infant mortality, uncontrolled diabetes, and uncontrolled blood pressure, which data has shown disproportionately affect people of color. Each project lasts 12 weeks to test small interventions that could potentially be brought to scale.
    • Bethesda Family Practice is the site of the uncontrolled diabetes project.
    • Heritage Butler Family Physicians will the be the site of the uncontrolled blood pressure project starting in late September.
    • Maternal Health project kickoff scheduled for October.

Picture: Kickoff meeting for the Diabetes Project Team at Bethesda Family Practice in Evanston

  • Improving language services: Doing a deeper dive into gaps experienced by limited-English-proficient patients and how we can increase their access to health care.
  • Following the data: A new health equity dashboard will allow the team to help pinpoint health disparities happening at TriHealth.
  • Addressing transportation barriers: Uber Health and Ride United (a United Way program) work with us to coordinate rides to and from appointments at TriHealth Cancer and Blood Institute so patients who qualify for these services can obtain medically necessary services.
  • Food pantries: With the support of the Freestore Foodbank, our Community Relations department maintains six food pantries that patients with a medical need can access with a prescription or order from their TriHealth provider. The locations include Bethesda North Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, the Bethesda Family Practice Center, and the Good Samaritan Free Health Center.

A Look Ahead

  • Updates will be provided throughout the year via team member townhalls, as well as a new Center for Health Equity site on Bridge.
  • The department of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion + Belonging, which falls within the Center for Health Equity, will continue to engage the community with health equity focused activities.
  • Our employee resource groups (ERGs) will have a variety of events that are fun and informative throughout the year that are open to all. There will also be an easier way on Bridge to find and learn more about ERGs.

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