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Health Equity Grant News

Listening to Your Community’s Health Care Needs to Ensure a Brighter Future

Passavant Area Hospital serves a largely rural area of central Illinois. It is one of 13 state hospitals and health centers that received a program grant in 2020 — through a collaboration between the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) — aimed at reducing disparities in health care. Read how the hospital is taking a community-focused approach to help pediatric asthma patients and improve health equity.

AHA’s IFDHE Along with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Announce Grant Program Award Recipients

The American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) announces the grant program awards to support the work of 13 Illinois hospitals and health care organizations in reducing disparities in health care.

Breaking Down Barriers to Greater Health Equity

Elisa Arespacochaga, AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity and Derek Robinson, M.D., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois discuss the benefits of joining forces to begin the Health Equity Grant program. 

Spotlight Interview: Taking Big Steps for Improving Maternal and Child Health

In this Spotlight Feature interview, Jean Ricci Goodman, M.D., and Aparna Sharma, M.D., discuss the program’s development and how it’s designed to improve maternal and child health in Loyola’s surrounding communities.

Provider-Payer Collaboration Looks at Opportunities to Eliminate Health Disparities

Hospitals and health systems are working every day to improve the patient experience and eliminate health disparities. But this work cannot be done in silos. AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois announded a new grant opportunity the will be a provider-payer collaboration to advance equity. Program funding will support efforts at 13 hospitals that focus on maternal and child health, pediatric asthma, adult diabetes, breast cancer and place-based geographic disparities, including rural access to care.

AHA Institute for Diversity and Health Equity and Blue Cross and Blue Shield Of Illinois Announce Joint Collaboration

The American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) today announced a joint collaboration and one-year grant program to support hospitals in eliminating health care disparities and working toward ensuring individuals in every community receive safe, equitable and high-quality care. Program funding will support efforts that are focused on maternal and child health, pediatric asthma, adult diabetes, breast cancer and geographic disparities, including rural access to care. Thirteen hospitals will have an opportunity to participate in the program.

The Hospital Community Cooperative

The Hospital Community Cooperative (HCC) aims to make it easier for hospitals and community organizations to develop and lead grassroots interventions that promote health equity. It involves local people working together to transform the conditions and outcomes that matter to their community.

The Costs of Racial Disparities in Health Care

Racial disparities in life expectancy are a key indicator of inequity in health outcomes. Leaders in government, business, and health care must address these persistent disparities at the national, state, and local levels, as both an ethical and an economic imperative. In fact, eliminating racial disparities in health care is vital to pushing the entire health care system toward improving quality while containing costs — so-called value-based care. Employers and health plans have an important stake in these efforts.