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The deplorable health disparity of African Americans compared to all other racial groups in San Francisco compelled the Hospital Council to issue a “Call to Action”, on behalf of all San Francisco hospitals, to improve the health of African Americans. The San Francisco Department of Public Health, Clinic Consortium, San Francisco Medical Society, community and faith based organizations, and community residents joined the hospitals in this citywide effort.
The African American Health Disparity Project was formally launched in November 2002 by Co-Chairs: Martin Brotman, MD, President and CEO of California Pacific Medical Center; Mark Laret, CEO of UCSF Medical Center; and Anthony Wagner, Vice President, Office of Labor Management Partnership, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. The infrastructure of the Project was designed as a collaboration in which all members have equal input into fact-finding, problem solving, program development and implementation. Four working committees were established to ensure an inclusive, citywide participation:
· Co-Chairs
· Operations Committee comprised of CEO’s, physicians, and senior leadership from hospitals and community based organizations
· Advisory Committee composed of African American members of the community and representatives from the Department of Public Health, community, faith based and philanthropic organizations
· Steering Committee consisting of representatives from each hospital, Clinic Consortium and the Medical Society.
The members of all committees agreed upon a working approach that integrates their professional and personal experiences to facilitate learning from each other in a way that creates sustainable change. Each action is explored with the shared understanding that the underpinnings of health disparities are perceived discrimination, institutional racism, and a history of mistrust by African Americans of the health care system. Participants draw upon established best practices combined with “thinking out of the box” to determine the most effective design and implementation. Committee members are involved in every decision with careful attention to learning about the intricacies of the issues and to ensuring that program evaluation and modification is an ongoing process. Through the synergy of personal, community, and hospital based change, the African American Health Disparity Project is addressing institutional racism, implementing citywide health initiatives, improving access to care, and impacting public policy.
The Initiatives that have been launched to date include:
I. Hospital/Clinic Initiative supports each hospital in the development and implementation of their individualized plan to address issues that contribute to health disparities for African Americans in their Institution. The hospitals also work as a team to determine best practice models, build on existing resources, and to collaborate on programs.
II. Community Ambassador/Hospital Navigator Initiative links community residents with Navigators within the health care institutions to improve access to care, provide health information, and increase the comfort level of patients utilizing the health care system. The Community Ambassadors serve as the liaison between patients and the Navigators of the hospital where they receive their health care. The Navigators assist patients in accessing clinical departments, direct them to the appropriate specialist to assure that their questions and concerns are answered, explain hospital administrative pathways/procedures, and provide information on the physical layout of the hospital and transportation services.
III. Advertorials are published on a biweekly basis in the two San Francisco African American newspapers. The goals of the Advertorials are to provide education on health care issues and available resources, to inform the community of the efforts the San Francisco hospitals are undertaking to reduce health disparities for African Americans, and to help build trust in our health care system.
IV. African American Prostate Health Initiative is a citywide model of cooperative hospital, clinic, community and faith based care for populations experiencing disparities in health. The Initiative intends to improve the health status of African American men in San Francisco through education, prevention, early detection, and treatment of prostate cancer. The San Francisco hospitals have collectively committed $1 million to provide Prostate Cancer treatment so that no African American man is denied medical care based on his ability to pay.
V. Pledge Statement has been developed to specifically address the issues that have been identified as obstacles to African Americans seeking health care. The Statement is provided to all patients in every hospital in San Francisco.
For more information, contact
Michael Huff, PhD, Director
African American Health Disparities Project
(415) 931-1685 |
