Health Equity News

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights Sept. 7 released a proposed rule intended to update and clarify requirements under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act that prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs receiving financial assistance from the department, including health care.

During the AHA Leadership Summit July 16-18 in Seattle, Meritus Health in Hagerstown, Md., Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., and Rapid City Hospital (Monument Health) in Rapid City, S.D., will receive 2023 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Awards for their outstanding efforts to advance diversity, inclusion and health equity.

David W. Rosenthal, D.O., of Northwell Health discusses the specific needs of LGBTQIA+ patients, education and training for health care workers, and the paths to creating competent and outstanding health care for all people.

The National Cancer Institute will provide $50 million in funding over five years to five centers that will research and implement structural changes to prevent cancer and improve outcomes for people in persistent poverty areas.

Technology was the topic for the May 17 plenary session discussion between Ivor Horn, M.D., director of health equity and social determinants of health at Google, and Joy A. Lewis, AHA senior vice president for health equity strategies and executive director of IFDHE.

Two experts from Seattle’s Swedish Hospital explain the role that doulas serve in prenatal and postpartum care, and how physicians and doulas can work together to reduce maternal and infant health disparities

As the COVID-19 public health emergency’s continuous coverage requirement ends and states redetermine eligibility for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollees, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights yesterday reminded state health officials of their obligations under federal civil right laws to provide meaningful language access for individuals with limited English proficiency and ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities. 

Nonprofit hospitals and health systems and other eligible entities can apply until April 14 for up to $2.5 million from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to support evidence-based interventions to prevent, diagnose and treat substance use disorders in primary care; and until April 21 for up to $2.5 million to support evidence-based interventions to accelerate health equity in health care delivery systems, among other funding opportunities

Adults receiving dialysis treatment for end-stage kidney disease were 100 times more likely to have a Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection than adults not on dialysis during 2017-2020, with the risk 40% higher for Hispanic patients than white patients, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention is working with NORC at the University of Chicago, AHA and others to identify and evaluate health systems implementing anti-racism practices with the potential to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes.