What to know
Cabarrus County in North Carolina used CDC funds to create a health equity framework to address racial disparities. These initiatives create new opportunities and offer services to local groups that historically had no access.
Overview
Recipients of the National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities grant are sharing how they are addressing COVID-19-related health disparities and advancing health equity through grant funded programs and activities.
Challenge
The year 2020 will be remembered as a year that forever changed how we live. Our nation witnessed the start of a global pandemic. More than 1.1 million lives were lost in the United States. We experienced a rise in political turmoil and social unrest in the wake of the George Floyd killing. This is a potent reminder of the disproportionate burden African Americans bear in criminal justice outcomes and health equity.
During this tenuous time, many U.S. health departments did not have the organizational capacity to address health equity. This was certainly the case with those in North Carolina.
Funding from CDC's COVID-19 Health Disparities grant was disseminated across more than 60 local and county health departments in North Carolina. The goal was to address health equity infrastructure, policy, environmental, and systems change. North Carolina's Cabarrus Health Alliance (CHA), formerly the Cabarrus County Health Department, applied a new health equity framework Advancing Equity program. This model helped agencies expand organizational capacities and services to mitigate COVID-19's impact on disproportionately affected populations.
Solution
On September 24, 2020, CHA joined what would become more than 260 organizations nationwide in declaring racism a public health crisis. At the height of the nation's pandemic and social outcry, CHA leaders and governing body members conducted community listening strategy sessions. This reshaped the organization's future, prompting leaders to take a solid stand on addressing racism to advance health equity.
As a result, CHA established a new organizational framework consisting of four sustainability pillars: data, training, community engagement, and policy. Within these pillars, CHA developed a long-term strategic plan for the first time to advance health and racial equity.
The Plan
The plan included:
- Moving toward a diverse public health workforce.
- Encouraging innovation in public health service delivery.
- Using effective assessment tools to identify opportunities for growth.
- Promoting equitable policies that enable successful health outcomes.
CHA also created and filled an Equity Coordinator position. The Equity Coordinator led activities related to health and racial equity goals. Included was the establishment of an Equity Pulse Team to oversee internal equity efforts. Additionally, an external Equity Advisory Council (EAC) was established to collaborate on community-based strategy implementation projects and effective community engagement measures.
Also, proceeds from the cross-sectoral summit on equity-based practices were donated to a community equity fund. Those funds were reinvested into equity-related projects based on input from the council.
Outcome
The Equity Pulse Team is composed of supervisors and executive and departmental leaders. The team helped spark a new wave of CHA interdepartmental, cross-functional collaborations and innovative approaches toward health equity.
The council's monthly meetings proved impactful, providing members with opportunities to learn more about local social determinants of health. Meetings also contributed to CHA's overall strategic planning process. Understanding the need for broad-based community buy-in, CHA engaged a local City Council member to serve on its' council. As a result, community members could directly communicate with municipal leaders and foster accountability.
Linkages to Care
EAC efforts also led to promising growth in linkages to care services. Collaborating with CHA's Community Health Workers, CHA was able to offer services to local groups. These groups had extensive histories of inadequate access to healthcare services. Expansion of local health department community-based prevention and care services programs addressed needs related to:
- dental hygiene
- healthy living
- vaccinations
- metabolic and sexual health-related blood screenings
Since the formation of the EAC, CHA has spawned a Recovery & Resiliency Coalition, formed a Patient & Family Advisory Council, and secured funding for a new mobile unit, with services that will range from immunizations to blood pressure and cholesterol screenings and community health worker services.