NEW YORK, NY—November 18, 2022—A United Hospital Fund task force focused on integrating equity in health care quality has started to identify strategies that can help reduce troubling inequities.
Comprising 24 experts from New York City health care organizations, the group met for the second time on November 7. The meeting marked a halfway point in the 18-month initiative, which will eventually produce a summary of Task Force findings and deliberations, along with possible areas of future collaboration with city health care systems.
Using feedback from the task force’s first meeting in July, UHF leadership had identified a total of seven organizational drivers of health care equity, three of which the task force will focus on. During the November meeting, task force members discussed their health care equity initiatives related to two of these drivers: “people engagement” and “continuous improvement practices”
Strategies and interventions began to emerge during two work group sessions. The work groups shared equity initiatives ranging from tackling disparities in diabetes health outcomes, diversity and inclusion initiatives among hospital staff, embedding screening tools to collect person-reported social needs directly into electronic medical records, and using wellness centers or arts initiatives to create an inclusive (or welcoming) environment for patients and staff. The examples were shared amongst all participants after each work session, giving them the opportunity to share their priorities, innovations, and challenges with like-minded colleagues.
“Meetings like this add energy to my day—I have so many ideas to take back and figure out how to make happen,” one task force member said at the end of the meeting. “Being able to learn from each other is a wonderful opportunity.”
The Bridging Quality and Equity task force is managed by UHF’s Quality Institute and supported by the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust. Its next meeting will be held in March and will focus on embedding equity into “clinical services and delivery.”
About United Hospital Fund
United Hospital Fund works to build an effective and equitable health care system for every New Yorker. An independent, nonprofit organization, we are a force for improvement, analyzing public policy to inform decision-makers, finding common ground among diverse stakeholders, and developing and supporting innovative programs that improve health and health care. We work to dismantle barriers in health policy and health care delivery that prevent equitable opportunities for health. For more on our initiatives and programs please visit our website at www.uhfnyc.org and follow us on Twitter.