Phoebe is one of the first health systems in Georgia to join a national initiative aimed at improving health outcomes by improving health equity.  The American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Health Equity Roadmap is a framework to help hospitals and health systems eliminate structural barriers that may make it more difficult for certain individuals to reach their highest potential for health.

“While we have always focused on improving access to care and providing high quality care to everyone, earlier this year we embarked on a formal journey to meet specific benchmarks that will help us achieve a higher level of health equity,” said Jen Williams, PhD, Phoebe Putney Health System Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Community Benefit Officer.

Phoebe’s first step was to complete the AHA’s Health Equity Transformation Assessment, an action taken by only seven other hospitals in Georgia.  The assessment is designed to help hospitals establish a baseline and to provide a structure for continuous improvement toward transforming to a more equitable and inclusive healthcare system.  Based on the results of the baseline assessment, Phoebe implemented a strategic plan, embarking on a journey to a sustainable and equitable ecosystem of healthcare within the community over the next four years.   

To help guide the health system on that journey, Phoebe developed its own definition of health equity which says that Phoebe “ensures every person has an equitable opportunity to reach and maintain an optimal level of individual health and wellness, regardless of any social drivers of health.”

“We must understand that all patients may not start on equal footing.  Some may not have access to transportation to get to a doctor’s appointment.  Others may not be able to afford medication needed to manage a chronic condition or they may have a language barrier that prevents them from understanding a doctor’s instructions,” Williams said.  “Our commitment to health equity means we are committed to finding ways to overcome those challenges, so we can ensure that every patient truly gets the individualized care and service they need.”

That commitment is leading to stronger community partnerships.  Phoebe is in the process of developing a Community Partner Board focused on health equity, and earlier this year it hosted a Community Resource Fair attended by about 20 local social service agencies. 

“We wanted our social workers and care teams to learn about these organizations and make connections with them so that we can better connect our patients to the resources they need,” Williams said.  “We recognize that we’re not alone in this journey.  We’re getting more involved in the community, and we’re excited to work with individuals, nonprofits and government entities to address some of these social drivers of health.”

Phoebe has also increased its community involvement by sponsoring official Phoebe Family volunteer opportunities with area nonprofit organizations.  Last fiscal year, Phoebe worked with eight organizations and offered four hours of paid time off for employees to participate in approved volunteer events.  This fiscal year, Phoebe is expanding the number of volunteer events and partner organizations and has set a goal of 550 official volunteer hours for its employees.

Phoebe is also collecting more data to help understand and respond to health inequities and social drivers of health.  As part of the federal government’s focus on health equity, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will require hospitals to collect new sociodemographic data to help reduce disparities.

“Information is great, but it’s what you do with information that makes it meaningful.  We’re going to put this data to good use.  We hope it will help us see trends and identify certain neighborhoods or groups where we may need to focus disease-specific prevention or management efforts,” Williams said.  “Tackling inequities in our healthcare system is a big job that can seem daunting, but our goal is really pretty simple.  We just want to do our part to make our community healthier.”