Centering Health Equity

One of the most significant health inequities in the nation is in the number of Black and Latinos with diabetes and the complications that happen when this condition is poorly managed. Our show looks at the many factors that contribute to diabetic amputations--one of the most life altering challenges a patient can face if they do not get the care they need or cannot sustain their treatment. In this episode we speak to Dr. Michael Sobolevsky, a Specialty Physician at the University Health, Texas Diabetes Institute and Dr. Francisco Prieto, a member of the board of directors for the American Diabetes Association.

In this episode of Centering Health Equity, we are joined by Dr. Bryan Buckley, Director of Health Equity Initiatives at the National Committee for Quality Assurance and Assistant Professor at Georgetown School of Medicine We discuss how medical schools are working to develop a curriculum for health equity and the impact this has in the effort to improve health outcomes for all. Dr. Buckley shares how students are responding to the health equity curriculum and what the implications may be for residency programs throughout the nation’s health systems.

Geoffrey Roche, SVP of National Health Care Practice & Workforce Partnerships at Core Education PBC and Dr. Angelita Howard, Dean for Online Programs and Extended Programs at Morehouse School of Medicine, joined us to discuss the new skills and competencies that will be expected of frontline staff who register patients, support their care, and coordinate their care plan. This episode of Centering Health Equity first highlights the specific curriculum relevant to health professionals who play a role in advancing health equity, and the training for a wide range of health care professionals that is being impacted by the growing focus on reducing health inequities.  

Ashlei Spivey, Executive Director at IBeBlackGirl, and Stacey Penny, Senior Project Director at the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, join us to discuss the key challenges black mothers face while pregnant and birthing. They share the work they are each doing to help improve health outcomes for black birthing people and women of color as well as some of the programs and initiatives that have been implemented to bring more awareness to and address the maternal health crisis in America.  The show features a number of programs and initiatives that can support a health system's efforts to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Our show notes are available at www.centerhealthequity.com with references to the many programs mentioned in our conversation.

Dr. Italo Brown, and Dr. Stephanie Brown discussed the use of Health Equity Rounds as an important didactic approach to understanding the role social determinants can play in medicine.  Dr. Italo Brown has introduced SPACE as a model for conducting the rounds — Share, Probe, Acknowledge, Connect, Engage.  Dr. Stephanie Brown shares her experience at Sutter Health in a pilot project that introduced this model to providers in the Labor and Delivery department at Sutter Health’s Berkeley site.  They explore the value of using “case based learning” in medicine to introduce the difficult conversation about bias of all kinds and bring a deeper understanding of the context of the challenge providers may face to address their own unconscious biases.   

About our guests: Dr. Italo Brown is a board certified Emergency Physician and Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine, and Health Equity & Social Justice Curriculum Thread Lead at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Stephanie Brown is an board certified Emergency Physician at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California and Clinical Lead at Sutter Health’s Institute for Advancing Health Equity.

Dr. Janet Englund, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington Medical School and Director of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Research Group at Seattle Children’s Hospital Center for Clinical and Translational Research joined us for a conversation about vaccine research and clinical trials. We discussed the role her team of researchers and clinicians have played in the Covid19 vaccine clinical trials for children as well as the research on vaccines for Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. Dr. Englund explains the many steps taken in establishing clinical trials and ensuring their safety and the ways which clinical trials can be designed to include more diverse participants.

In this episode we are joined by Pat Geraghty, President and CEO, GuideWell and Florida Blue and Dr. Kelli Tice, Vice President Medical Affairs, Chief Health Equity Officer at GuideWell.  Our conversation explored how GuideWell responded to the pandemic and talked about the specific ways that health plans can engage in advancing health equity.  Our guests were candid about the hard work that is required and the importance of health plans working closely with community stakeholders to understand the needs of the communities where their members live and work.  As much as has been achieved, there remains more to do and both Pat and Dr. Tice share their deep commitment and passion for this work.

There is a mental health crisis in the US and its been recently discussed as the shadow pandemic that became evident as more individuals had to isolate and physically distance from loved ones to avoid the spread of Covid19.  In this episode we speak with Dr. Alexander Salerno, founder of the Urban Healthcare Initiative Program and Director of the Community Health Outreach Program in New Jersey and Chuck Ingoglia, President and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.  Our conversation looked at the magnitude of the challenges anyone suffering with mental illness can encounter in finding the right care in what can only be described as a fragmented mental health system.  We looked at how a unique program of integrated care– a place where physical and mental health needs can be addressed– is building on known best practices to address complex care needs for those experiencing mental illness. We also talked about the importance of sharing knowledge about Mental Health First Aid among informal and formal support systems that individuals may access.  As we think about any effort to advance health equity, these conversations about access to mental health services need to take center stage now more than ever.

Our conversation with Lisa Sloane, founder and CEO of More Inclusive Healthcare, and Tamara Migut, Director of Quality Improvement at Health Alliance Medical Plans, provides a rich opportunity to look at how collecting data on race, gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity pose unique challenges for health systems and how to craft a strategy that supports staff adoption and patient engagement. As an innovator and entrepreneur, Lisa Sloane shares her experience with working in partnership with different health systems to support their efforts to collect patient data. Tamara is responsible for the Health Alliance Medical Plans Quality Improvement Initiative, focusing on meeting new reporting requirements from the National Committee for Quality Assurance that links health inequities with HEDIS measures and outcomes.

In this episode we talk with Myra Gregorian, Chief People Officer at Seattle Children's Hospital and Dr. Aletha Maybank, Senior Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer for the American Medical Association about what it means to go beyond creating a culture of inclusion in healthcare settings to becoming an anti-racist organization.  Join us for a candid conversation about this next chapter in the DEI journey and the unique challenges organizations and individual leaders face in this courageous work.