CEO and Board Engagement is KEY to success in driving organizational change. Health equity practitioners need help with meaningful, measurable leadership buy-in. Raising the Bar for equity and excellence looks different for every organization—sometimes it involves coordination with CEOs, and other times creating board-level task forces. Regardless of what actions are taken, shared vision is necessary across leadership.

On July 26, panelists provided practical guidance on:

• How CEOs can engage boards and what is needed to drive change across the organization.

• How CMO’s can convince CEOs/boards to act.

• How equity officers define success from a leadership standpoint and what they need to drive transformative change.

Speakers:

• Dawn Godbolt, PhD (Director of Health Equity, Maven Clinic)

• Mikelle Moore, MBA, MHSA (Senior Vice President, Chief Community Health Officer, Intermountain Healthcare).

• Tara Oakman, PhD (Interim Managing Director—Program, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

• Gary Stuck, DO (Chief Medical Officer, Advocate Aurora Health)

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Healthcare can drive transformational change to build a healthier, more equitable society. In this session shown during Modern Healthcare‘s Social Determinants of Health Symposium, leaders will showcase the diverse roles healthcare institutions play in advancing health equity—as providers, as employers, as community members and as advocates.

Moderator:

• Andrea Ducas, Senior Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Panelists:

• Sarah de Guia, Chief Executive Officer, ChangeLab Solutions

• Carlos Lejnieks, President and Chief Executive Officer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson & Union Counties, New Jersey

• Anand Shah, MD, Vice President of Social Health, Kaiser Permanente

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Communities thrive—and healthcare delivery is more effective—when healthcare meaningfully involves communities; respects and centers their expertise, needs, and priorities in governance and decision-making; and works in partnership with individuals and organizations in the community on activities and initiatives that reflect that engagement.

On September 13, panelists provided practical guidance on:

• Involving community members in organizational governance and decision-making

• Building trusting relationships with individuals and organizations in the community

• Respecting and building on the power and expertise of community members

Speakers:

• Jocelyn Frye – President, National Partnership for Women & Families (moderator)

• Catherine Baase, MD – Board Chairperson, Michigan Health Improvement Alliance

• Uma R. Kotagal, MBBS, MSc – Executive Leader, Population and Community Health, and Senior Fellow, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

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Raising the Bar principles provide a framework for thinking differently about the work organizations do to drive transformative change and advance equity and excellence. They require a shift in thinking about equity work and require a 360-degree perspective. On September 29, panelists discussed:

• How to the make the Raising the Bar principles an active part of organizational strategies

• What it looks like to put an equity strategy into practice

• How your organization can measure your equity strategy and establish accountability standards

The conversation was moderated by Ruth Shim, MD, MPH, member of the Board of Trustees at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is the Luke & Grace Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis, and is Associate Dean of Diverse and Inclusive Education at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine.

Speakers:

• Rick Gilfillan, MD, MBA – Independent Consultant; Former President and CEO, Trinity Health

• Rachel Gonzales-Hanson – Interim CEO and President, National Association of Community Health Centers

• J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE – President and CEO, Trust for America’s Health

• Carlos Lejnieks, MSc – Chair of the Board of Trustees, Jersey City Medical Center (a RWJ/Barnabas Health Hospital); Chief Executive Officer, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson and Union Counties

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The delivery of care and health outcomes are improved when the workforce and leadership reflect the diversity of the communities served. As employers, healthcare organizations should model practices that allow their workers to thrive.

On October 24, panelists provided practical guidance on:

• Investing in leaders who advance and embed equity, quality, and value across the organization

• Cultivating a representative workforce at every level

• Creating workplaces where employees can be healthy and help guide effective and equitable care

• Employing all tools available, including procurement, to ensure the well-being and diversity of contract workers

The conversation was moderated by Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, co-founder of the National Alliance to impact the Social Determinants of Health and Chief Health Officer at Google.

Speakers:

• Adia Harvey Wingfield, PhD – Vice Dean of Faculty Development and Diversity, Professor of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis

• Alan Nevel, MBA – Senior Vice President and Chief Equity Officer, MetroHealth

• Denise Octavia Smith, MBA, CHW, PN – Founding Executive Director, National Association of Community Health Workers

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Healthcare provider institutions that made public commitments to health equity are eager for guidance. Raising the Bar, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, recently launched an actionable guide to improve maternal health outcomes and equity. The guidance outlines four key roles hospitals, healthcare systems, independent women’s health provider groups, and federally qualified health centers can play: as providers, employers, community partners, and advocates.

Advancing maternal health equity relies on more than direct clinical care. Quality measures, demographic data collection, and payment programs are all important actions for organizations to embed equity into maternal and newborn health.

On May 16, national experts explored:

• Business case for advancing maternal health

• Quality care measures and measure sets

• Maternity payment reform and linking payments to equity and outcomes

• Demographic data collection and sharing

Panelists

• Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, JD – National Partnership for Women & Families (Moderator)

  She is a national health equity policy and advocacy expert, with experience spanning nonprofit, state government, and labor arenas. Her leadership on the Health Justice team includes the development of Raising the Bar for Maternal Health Equity and Excellence.

• Patty Graham – HealthPartners (MN)

  Her experience spans integrated health systems, health plans, and community clinics. HealthPartners’ work with doulas is highlighted in this Raising the Bar community partner spotlight.

• Abike T. James, MD, MPH – Penn Medicine

  She offers a provider perspective through her roles as lead physician and attending with Penn OBGYN Associates, the vice chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and an associate professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology. Penn Medicine’s multifaceted strategy to improve black maternal health is featured in this Raising the Bar spotlight.

• Joshua Traylor, MPH – Health Care Transformation Task Force

  His policy expertise includes care delivery reform, Medicaid and Medicare innovations, and health benefit design. The Health Care Transformation Task Force contributed to Raising the Bar operational guidance on maternal health equity data collection/sharing and payment linkages to improving equity in maternal health access, care, and outcomes.

Watch the full video here: