Health Equity Blogs

This blog post offers an overview on how to assess your organization's DEI understanding so they can make a plan to move forward in the work. This organization also links to multiple resources on DEI training, including webinars, a resource library, and success stories.

Hospitals and health systems are today in the midst of a rapidly changing health care landscape. It sometimes feels like changes are weekly, if not daily, and the need to be constantly responsive can sometimes compromise the capacity of hospital leaders to be reflective and think about what’s happening on a broader, societal level.

Tamiko Stanley, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Luminis Health, reflects on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and best practices moving forward.

Community investment, otherwise known as place-based investment, helps create the social and physical environments that support community health over the long term.

Makunda Abdul-Mbacke, M.D., an obstetrician-gynecologist, shares the challenges she faces in her rural Virginia community and her hopes for the future of rural health.

Community Investment Series Community investment, otherwise known as place-based investment, helps create the social and physical environments that support community health over the long

Community Investment Series Community investment, otherwise known as place-based investment, helps create the social and physical environments that support community health over the long

Community investment Series, otherwise known as place-based investment, helps create the social and physical environments that support community health over the long term.

Community investment Series, otherwise known as place-based investment, helps create the social and physical environments that support community health over the long term.

In this Members in Action podcast featuring maternal and child health efforts, Aisha Syeda, program manager at the AHA is joined by leaders from Northwell Health.

In this conversation, AHA’s Sue Ellen Wagner, vice president of Trustee Services, is joined by Carol Lovin, the executive vice president, chief integration officer, and system chief of staff at Atrium Health.

In this conversation, AHA’s Sue Ellen Wagner, vice president of Trustee Services, is joined by Carol Lovin, the executive vice president, chief integration officer, and system chief of staff at Atrium Health.

Who exactly is a “stakeholder” when it comes to improving health equity?

Communities of color, who over the past year have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, also experienced emotional distress exacerbated by events surrounding the murder of George Floyd.

AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity has been working for more than 25 years to advance health equity, diversity and inclusion by supporting hospitals, health systems, patients and communities. While the health care field has made some progress, we still have a long way to go. 

By integrating behavioral health into physical care and tapping into community partnerships, hospitals and health systems can develop culturally competent clinical solutions to better serve historically underrepresented individuals, writes Manish Sapra, M.D., executive director of the behavioral health service line at New York-based Northwell Health. Read more in this blog, and find more resources on AHA’s Minority Mental Health Awareness Month page.

COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on Black, Latino, Native Americans and other communities of color is well-documented and deeply troubling. It’s also the latest in a long history of health inequities and health disparities affecting racial minorities in our society. 

COVID-19 has been a learning experience on many fronts. Every facet of our health care system has been affected by the pandemic — from providers to patients to hospital and health system CEOs — and we will be sorting out lessons learned for some time to come. 

In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, events sparked by the murder of George Floyd increased the constant exposure to stress in communities of color, a detriment to one’s physical and mental health, writes Kimberlydawn Wisdom, M.D., senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, and chairperson of AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity Leadership Council. In this blog in conjunction with July as Minority Mental Health Awareness Month read her call to action to making behavioral health accessible to all.

In Bellingham, Wash., the PeaceHealth clinic is using community health workers, or promotoras, to help educate farmworkers in rural communities about the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.