Public Health MD Leader: Time for Corporations to Step Up Around Health Equity
A physician deeply involved in public health issues has authored a blog in the Health Affairs “Forefront” section, arguing that senior executives at corporations and other privately owned businesses have an obligation to use their power and resources to promote and advance health equity. Lisa A. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., is the James F. Fries Professor of Medicine and a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is also the Founder and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and Director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute. And her opinion piece, entitled “Private Sector Companies Must Partner With Communities To Advance Health Equity,” appeared online on June 27, as part of the Forefront series “Private Sector Solutions for Health Equity.” Health Affairs noted that CVS has supported the series financially.
Dr. Cooper notes that “Most employers offer benefits to promote and protect the health and well-being of their employees. These benefits can range from affordable health care options, on-site daycare, and healthy food choices in the cafeteria, to free health screenings and discounts on gym memberships. But private sector employers can go beyond considering the needs of their employees and clients. By addressing the needs of the communities where they exist and finding the best solutions for their region's concerns,” she writes, “they can positively influence social determinants of health and move toward health equity—optimal health for all.”
Importantly, Cooper writes, “[C]ompanies companies must take their health equity efforts beyond the workplace and into the surrounding communities. By taking a broader view of their role, private-sector employers can become incubators for highly effective health equity solutions backed by research from their employees' and clients’ experiences and outcomes. Everyone wins when companies commit to making health equity part of their business strategy. By incorporating health equity into business plans, companies can improve the health and lives of their employees and secure a better financial future for themselves and their communities. Supporting the health of their employees and their communities is more than moral responsibility; it's also good for a company's bottom line: Creating conditions that lead to improved health means the community becomes a better place to live and work, and that benefits employees as well as potential clients. Also, when employees are healthy, they are more productive, experience greater job satisfaction, require fewer health care services, and take fewer sick days,” she writes.
And she urges corporate executives to explore secure housing, access to healthcare, and community-based partnerships, as venues for action. With regard to housing, she references Baltimore’s “Live Near Your Work” program, a public/private partnership that “contributes to sustaining healthy neighborhoods and increasing housing security.” That program, she writes, is an example of where employers can reduce commuting time and stress and enhance work-life balance for their employees, as well as supporting better health outcomes, such as lower rates of chronic disease and mental health.
Meanwhile, she cites CVS’s “CVS Caremark prescription service as one example of combining publicly available claims information with its in-house data to identify health disparities and promote access to affordable medications.”
And per communities, Cooper writes that “It's easy to look to large corporations with big budgets to solve the problems of health inequity. But even small companies can play important roles through partnerships, networking, and creative thinking. Consider barbershops, for example. The barbershop and the barber are trusted community institutions. Black men visit their local barbershops for more than shaves and haircuts. These community havens are where Black men can relax, catch up with friends about their jobs and families, and talk politics, sports and music. They also discuss their health. Joseph Ravenell, M.D., of New York University worked with more than 200 community-based organizations, particularly barbershops, to establish the Men's Health Initiative. Through this academic-private partnership, Ravenell and his research team have provided education and screenings for cardiovascular and colorectal disease to more than 20,000 New Yorkers.”
And with regard to food insecurity, Cooper writes that “One of the most innovative solutions to the food desert problem I have seen recently is the Atlanta-based food waste startup Goodr. Since 2016, CEO Jasmine Crowe-Houston has been hosting pop-up dinners for the unhoused throughout the city. The company gathers and redistributes food surplus to food-insecure households and nonprofits. Goodr has grown to include food pantries, student snack packs, pop-up food markets, and grocery and meal delivery. In March 2023, Crowe-Houston launched the Goodr grocery truck and mobile app, offering fresh produce, milk, eggs, and shelf-stable items free of cost. Cooper also references the fact that “Churches often serve as the anchor for communities of color. Therefore, they are natural hubs for delivering services and programs that can impact multiple social determinants of health. However, while faith-based organizations are rich in people and ideas, they typically lack funding and resources. Private-sector companies that partner with churches and other faith organizations can significantly reduce health disparities.”