The Importance of Developing Health Equity Initiatives

This is the final post of a three-part series on Modern Healthcare’s Social Determinants of Health Symposium, which was held virtually on October 25, 2023. You can read the second one here.

The last decade has seen an increasing recognition within healthcare on the impact of social drivers of health (SDOH) have on the patient journey. In response, healthcare providers and policymakers have been exploring ways to address these social factors and promote health equity. Modern Healthcare's latest symposium on social determinants of health, gathered industry leaders to achieve this goal. 

In delivering the first keynote address, Robert Garrett, CEO at Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) said, “At the heart of social determinant of health strategies is the drive to improve health equity and build stronger communities. Think about creating a world where your zip code should never be an indicator of your health.” 

Garrett highlighted health disparities in the United States by detailing the following statistics:

• Black mothers are 3x more likely to die due to pregnancy complications compared to White mothers.
• There is a 30-year gap in life expectancy between the world’s richest and poorest countries.
• Life expectancy for Black Americans is 3.5 years less than White Americans.

HMH is comprised of a network of healthcare providers in New Jersey, including academic medical centers, acute care facilities, and research hospitals. It operates 17 hospitals and encompasses 36,000 employees. The program’s SDOH strategy focuses on screening for food insecurity, housing insecurity, and caregiver stress. Hackensack is making strides beyond traditional health care by utilizing new technology, an innovative strategy that has screened more than 800,000 patients and made 2.7 million referrals to social service agencies and redesigning medical education.

In concluding his address, Garrett shared HMH's ongoing and developing initiatives to promote health equity:

• Secured $4M in state and federal grants as well as private philanthropy to directly fund purchases of healthy food for supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) beneficiaries.
• Addressing the physician shortage (in primary care and general surgery) by opening the first private medical school in New Jersey in 60 years.
• Opening the first of its kind transportation and healthcare hub at one of the busiest train stations in the northeast corridor (Metropark) that will include physician offices, urgent care, among other services.

Following the keynote address, Member of the US House of Representative from Delaware, Lisa Blunt Rochester, provided an overview of how the US Congress is addressing health equity. Rochester noted that one of the first executive orders current US President, Joseph R. Biden, made was focused on examining federal health operations through a health equity lens. “Health equity is an issue that can unite us across the political divide,” Rochester said. She went on to highlight the work the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the SDOH space as well as how private hospitals have begun reporting on the socioeconomic factors that influence patient care. “You are our best advocates. We need you to help educate the public and educate members of Congress. There are so much more we can do to close the gaps of health disparities,” Rochester concluded.

A Data-Driven Approach to Health Equity

Rochester’s keynote address was followed by a series of breakout sessions. The first featured a panel discussion moderated by Kat Jercich, senior editor at Modern Healthcare. The panelists included: Evelyn Gallego, CEO and Founder at EMI Advisors, Alric Simmonds, MD, chief health equity officer at AdventHealth, and Rachel Thorton, MD, vice president and chief health equity officer at Nemours Children’s Health.

The discussion focused on how healthcare organizations can adopt a data-driven approach towards promoting health equity. A few of steps highlighted involve aggregating and analyzing data to identify drivers of health outcome disparities among different populations, constructing a data governance framework, and developing practical tools to address disparities. “We have an obligation to understand what is going on in communities. That is, identifying things that impact health outcomes,” Dr. Simmonds said.

The Role of Leadership

Another key breakout session focused on how hospital and health system leaders play a pivotal role in ensuring everyone has fair and equitable access to healthcare. This discussion focused on prioritizing health equity efforts, even with continued challenges. Panelists included Allison Hess, vice president of health innovations at Geisinger, Anand Shah, MD, vice president of social health at Kaiser Permanente, Elsie Taveras, MD, chief community health and equity officer at Mass General Brigham, and Michael Zenn, senior advisor of enterprise strategic initiatives at the University of Illinois, Chicago. The session was moderated by Mary Ellen Podmolik, editor-in-chief at Modern Healthcare.

The conversation focused on how each institution has been working to embed health equity and SDOH efforts into everyday care. Dr. Taveres highlighted a program at Mass General Brigham titled, “United Against Racism.” According to Dr. Tavares, it serves as the Institution’s diversity, equity, and inclusion statement to address the impact of racism on patients, staff, and the community. With the backing of executive leaders, the program serves as a commitment to making facilities and services accessible and welcoming to all.

Closing Remarks

The day closed with a presentation from Kevin Mahoney, CEO, the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Mahoney described how the health system is working to bridge the health equity gap. He noted that approximately 75% of their revenue margin is used to support research and education. An example of the successful use of these research dollars includes the Penn Medicine scientists who were recently awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine for their work on the mRNA technology that was used to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mahoney went on to highlight Heart Safe Motherhood. The text message-based program monitors a patient's blood pressure after they give birth, with the ease of communicating with a care team member from home. Mahoney noted that following program implementation, the University of Pennsylvania Health System has seen a dramatic decline (30%) in maternal morbidity and mortality rates in patients from underserved communities. “That is our why at Penn Medicine,” he said. “We want to change the world."