/ en Mon, 28 Apr 2025 21:59:32 -0500 Wed, 26 Jun 24 15:00:00 -0500 /center/community-health-improvement-week Sat, 25 May 2024 08:00:00 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /center/hcc/curriculum Wed, 26 Jun 2024 15:00:00 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /news/headline/2024-06-13-infographic-highlights-hospitals-valuable-role-communities <p>The AHA June 13 released an <a href="/infographics/2024-06-13-hospitals-are-cornerstones-their-communities-infographic">infographic</a> highlighting the many ways hospitals and health systems advance health and support their communities. Among other topics, the infographic includes data on the number of patients treated in hospital emergency departments, number of babies delivered and number of surgeries performed. It also states that 6.4 million people were directly employed by hospitals in the U.S. in 2022, and hospitals supported nearly one in six jobs across the nation. Hospitals also purchased $1.3 trillion in goods and services from other businesses and supported $4.4 trillion in total economic activity. This week is Community Health Improvement Week. For more ways hospitals and health systems support their communities, visit AHA’s <a href="/center/community-health-improvement-week">CHI Week webpage</a>.</p> Thu, 13 Jun 2024 16:07:23 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /center/community-health-improvement-week/ways-celebrate-chi-week Fri, 24 May 2024 11:00:00 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /news/chairpersons-file/2022-05-02-chair-file-accelerating-health-equity-time-action <p>It was great to connect with so many colleagues last week at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C. One of my priorities as chair is to keep listening to the priorities of leaders in our field as they support millions of team members who go to work each and every day to deliver healing, health and wellness to communities across our country.</p> <p>One priority for hospitals and health systems is advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. The AHA’s next gathering, the <a href="/accelerating-health-equity">Accelerating Health Equity Conference</a>, May 10–12 in Cleveland, will focus on that topic.</p> <p>Led by the AHA Community Health Improvement network and the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity, this conference is an excellent opportunity for individuals and teams charged with improving community and population health, health equity, diversity and inclusion to convene, listen to one another and learn.</p> <p>The AHA’s recently released Health Equity Roadmap will come to life in Cleveland, as the conference content is organized around the Roadmap’s <a href="https://equity.aha.org/the-six-levers-of-transformation" target="_blank">six Levers of Transformation</a>. Attendees will learn strategies and tactics to put the Roadmap into practice.</p> <p>I encourage you to check out the <a href="https://web.cvent.com/event/efb71c93-6768-4141-b8fa-9b54477449b9/websitePage:66f86fee-8ef6-4668-8000-e6afb3218890" target="_blank">conference agenda</a> highlighting keynote speakers and breakout sessions — there’s still time to sign up to participate.</p> <p>The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequity, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”</p> <p>During the past two years, we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbate long-standing health care disparities and inequities. Systemic inequities, such as structural racism and economic disadvantages within diverse communities, continue to prevent individuals and communities from achieving optimal health, thus leading to avoidable differences in health outcomes.</p> <p>At the same time, the pandemic has elevated the need for hospitals and community-based organizations to connect, collaborate and take action to eliminate the drivers of poor health and advance equitable outcomes for patients, families and communities.</p> <p>Let’s renew our efforts around diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. We must continue to engage with and invest in our neighborhoods and one another in new and important ways to accelerate health equity.</p> <p>Wright L. Lassiter III<br /> AHA Chair</p> Mon, 02 May 2022 12:30:46 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /center/community-health-improvement-week/archive/2022 Fri, 18 Mar 2022 14:49:57 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /center/community-health-improvement-week/archive/2021 Fri, 18 Mar 2022 14:49:57 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /news/blog/2021-06-04-being-intentional-about-health-equity-everything-we-do <p>Improving community health to advance health equity is a journey. And like many journeys, this is one that is better taken with partners.</p> <p>For over 10 years, the field has come together and celebrated <a href="/center/community-health-improvement-week">Community Health Improvement Week</a> and the cross-sector partnerships we’ve formed. The past year and a half these partnerships have been particularly vital. The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated health disparities, and the renewed calls for social justice and dismantling structural racism have moved front and center to our community health improvement work this past year.</p> <p>So where do we go from here? While this is a journey many of us have been on for years, it is important to pause, reflect and then renew our commitment to community health improvement and, ultimately, health equity. It is important to ask ourselves what specific actions we want to take to ensure we are moving forward in this work in an equitable and sustainable fashion.</p> <p>Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the <a href="https://web.cvent.com/event/1d1ba846-d6dd-4680-adab-d06044e236c4/summary">Accelerating Health Equity Virtual Conference</a>, asking my peers similar questions about how we understand community assets and needs, including the community health needs assessment process. As awareness of the societal factors that influence health has increased, so too has awareness of and the evolving role the CHNA process can play going forward. During the panel discussion, leaders from Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, Trinity Health, based in Livonia, Mich., and Cleveland-based University Hospitals described how they are conducting and adapting their community assessment and improvement work amid a global pandemic, addressing challenges they see going forward and navigating promising paths to a more sustainable and equitable future.</p> <p>Some specific actions these health systems are committing to include:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Reviewing internal structural factors that may be inhibiting an equitable and sustainable approach.</strong> Danielle Price, director, community health engagement, at University Hospitals, shared how the health system paused and reflected on how it could structure itself differently to make a greater impact. In doing so, the health care organization is connecting three previously siloed work streams under one shared community investment vision. She encouraged session attendees to “be bold and make the changes you’ve always dreamed of implementing to foster equity.”</li> <li><strong>Learning how to authentically engage the community and then do it consistently.</strong> Jaime Dircksen, vice president, community health and well-being, at Trinity Health, revealed how the health system spent time right before the pandemic thinking about its community engagement efforts and training on equity. She stressed that one invitation to a community partner is not enough. Rather, you have to do this over time and, consistently, “forever.” She emphasized, “This is not just a CHNA thing; this is a forever thing to make an impact in our communities.”</li> <li><strong>Making equity explicit in the assessment process. </strong>While community health assessment has always been about equity, Michael Bilton, system director, community health/community benefit, at CommonSpirit, explained that it is important to make it a universal theme that cuts across all needs assessments. In particular, he recommended seeking more granular data on inequities and asking “why” if such data are not available.</li> </ul> <p>Our journey at CHRISTUS Health has been one of inclusion. It was important for us to first look internally and identify who is not at the table. We have renewed our commitment, widened the table and now embrace our partners in communications, advocacy, treasury, strategy and human resources — to include the whole picture and not a limited perspective.</p> <p>Diverse representation allows for integrating community health and health equity throughout the system. We took a similar approach working with community partners and ensured we have a shared commitment to making decisions that meet the health needs of our community.</p> <p><em>Marcos Pesquera is the system vice president of community benefit, health equity, diversity and inclusion at CHRISTUS Health. He also serves on the <a href="/center/population-health/about">AHA Population and Community Health Advisory Committee</a>.</em></p> Fri, 04 Jun 2021 11:50:31 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /news/blog/2021-06-04-adapting-uncertainty-learning-front-lines-and-creating-purposeful-new-normal <p>COVID-19. Never have our communities been faced with such a challenge, bringing to light the full spectrum of heartache and resiliency. From the chronic stress to the sense of community that comes with a shared traumatic event, our public health infrastructure stood strong and showed us that we could overcome anything together. As I reflect on the meetings, planning sessions and collaborations, I also pause to remember the toll individuals and families have felt around the globe.</p> <p>At the same time, we saw hospitals burdened with rushes of patients, emergency extensions of intensive care units, and medicine adapting to the best way to treat a novel virus. We also saw health systems come together in innovative collaboration to keep patients and staff healthy, stand up emotional health resources and take a leading voice across industries.</p> <p>When I think of the past 18 months, I see a striking imperative where physicians learned from others across the globe in determining the best course of treatment. We saw medical curiosity arise in people banding together to address a looming threat. And we saw caregivers from across the spectrum work tirelessly to address the needs of their community.</p> <p>We have seen a return to public health principles that have helped more people live healthier and happier lives. We prepared for a nearly nonexistent flu season — where we saw a 98% decrease in flu deaths in the U.S. Likewise, we saw infant RSV cases plummet because people washed their hands, covered their coughs and sneezes with a mask and were physically distanced. We were reminded that public health works.</p> <p>As I consider what the rest of 2021 and beyond looks like, I’m encouraged by the openness to a shifting and more flexible workforce. I’ve seen more spare rooms, kitchen tables, kids in the background and dogs in laps that remind me that working in health care is essential: It literally saves lives.</p> <p>Collaboration is becoming the new norm, with previous rivals coming together to innovate and create. We have been given the opportunity to design the life we want to live.</p> <p>So take some time to reflect on your personal mission, vision and values, and live the life you’ve always wanted.</p> <p><em>Mikelle Moore is senior vice president and chief community health officer, Intermountain Healthcare.</em></p> Fri, 04 Jun 2021 11:40:49 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI) /news/blog/2021-06-04-rising-together-create-and-sustain-healthy-vibrant-communities-all <p>As we celebrate <a href="/center/community-health-improvement-week/">Community Health Improvement Week</a> in 2021, it is with a deep sense of gratitude: for what we’ve learned over the past year and for the memories of those we’ve lost too soon; for the partnerships that lift us through good times and challenges; and for the privilege of serving those on the front lines of co-creating healthier, more equitable communities.</p> <p>CHI Week is an opportunity to spotlight and elevate the passion, resilience and ingenuity of health care and community leaders who, arm in arm with community members, inspire us to work authentically together. Together, we’re far more than the sum of our parts.</p> <p>This week, leaders like <a href="/news/blog/2021-06-04-adapting-uncertainty-learning-front-lines-and-creating-purposeful-new-normal">Mikelle Moore</a> and <a href="/news/blog/2021-06-04-being-intentional-about-health-equity-everything-we-do">Marcos Pesquera</a> have written eloquently, reminding us of the importance of our shared purpose and how unique times bring unique challenges and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. In this moment of time, we have an opportunity to reflect on how our personal mission, vision and values align with the collective work we do. Bringing intentionality and inclusion to our lives and our work can provide a stronger foundation going forward.</p> <p>As the global pandemic recedes, we must continue to accelerate our shared work focused on ensuring health equity and creating communities that contribute to vitality for all. This means moving forward with fresh insights and new ways of working together — and not returning to silos in which public health, health care delivery and community-based organizations act in disconnection from one another. Instead, we must continue to do the hard work of aligning our strategies and tactics to make continued progress toward our shared goal of a nation and world of healthy, vibrant communities.</p> <p>To provide a space and platform for this ongoing collaboration and coordination, the AHA’s Community Health Improvement (ACHI) network brings together professionals to rise to the challenges and opportunities present in our communities.</p> <ul> <li>If you’re not already part of this network, we encourage you to take the next step by <a href="https://www.healthycommunities.org/">joining today</a>; it’s free for those who work at an AHA member hospital or health system.</li> <li>If you’re already part of the ACHI network, we suggest you take the opportunity to reach out to a partner — or a potential partner — to reinforce your commitment to working together in and with communities to create the better future we all strive for.</li> </ul> <p>Finally, and perhaps most importantly, please know how much we appreciate and admire each of you for the passion, intelligence, strength and beauty you bring via your work. You are the purpose for our work, and it is with genuine gratitude that we celebrate you this week.</p> <p><em>Andrew Jager is director, population health, and Nancy Myers is vice president, leadership and system innovation, both at the AHA Center for Health Innovation.</em></p> Fri, 04 Jun 2021 11:33:39 -0500 AHA Community Health Improvement (ACHI)