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Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities Update |
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The MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation has identified the following actions that it will undertake over the next several years to implement the recommendations of the Racial and Ethnic Disparities Steering Committee. It is important that these actions do not occur in isolation, but rather are a part of an ongoing, community-wide and collaborative effort to reduce health disparities in the MetroWest area. CULTURAL COMPETENCY The cultural competency initiative is a three-pronged approach to promoting greater cultural competency among health care organizations, providers, and staff in the MetroWest. This initiative involves grant-making, training sessions, and the creation of a cultural competency webpage within the Foundation’s website.
The Foundation will provide grants to assist MetroWest health care agencies interested in promoting cultural competency within their organizations. Funds can be used for board and staff training and development, patient advocacy, improvement to interpreter/translation services, and outreach to minority populations.
The Foundation will organize and sponsor a series of training workshops specifically targeted to doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals that expand their understanding and treatment for culturally diverse patients. These workshops intend to improve the cultural competency of MetroWest area health institutions and providers and support their efforts to address the health needs of culturally diverse patients.
The Foundation will compile cultural competency resources and appropriate web links to create an all-encompassing cultural competence webpage. The webpage will offer a wealth of knowledge on cultural competency as well as practical tools for providing care to racial, ethnic, and linguistic minorities. There is a growing need in the MetroWest area for physicians that reflect the racial and linguistic diversity of the community. Several groups such as Brazilians, Latinos/ Hispanics, and African-Americans are underrepresented when it comes to health care providers. Collaborating with MetroWest Medical Center, the Framingham Community Health Center, and other area hospitals, the Foundation will provide two-year fellowships enabling these institutions to recruit minority physicians to practice medicine in the MetroWest. HEALTH SCREENINGS Certain diseases and health concerns such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, overweight and obesity are much more prevalent in minority communities. In order to combat these disparities the Foundation will provide grant funding to establish organizations serving minority communities (e.g. churches, community centers, advocacy organizations) to arrange for and provide health screenings within and for their communities. The screenings will focus on health concerns particularly relevant to racial and ethnic minority communities and will be available to participants free of charge or at a reduced fee. DISPARITIES WORKGROUP The Foundation will convene a community-wide disparities workgroup that will serve the MetroWest area. The workgroup will serve as a central point for the coordination and sharing of information, activities and knowledge for addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care within the region. The work group will convene to promote a dialogue around the issue of disparities and to devise concrete solutions to reducing disparities. Certain projects may include: the establishment of a minority provider directory, collaborating with area health agencies to increase access to services, and promoting greater cultural competency across organizations. If you are interested in joining the workgroup, please contact Alex Muenze by calling the Foundation office at (508) 879-7625. Workgroup Charter
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