The American Hospital Association Launches Health Equity Roadmap

According to a March 29 press release, the American Hospital Association (AHA) announced the launch of the Health Equity Roadmap—a framework that supports hospitals and health systems to become more equitable and address structural barriers to health.

The release states that “The Health Equity Roadmap, which builds on the goals established by the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities and AHA’s #123forEquity Pledge, is designed to meet hospitals and health systems where they are on their equity journey. It includes customized resources and action plans, among other support tools, to guide organizations throughout the transformation process.”

That said, “When engaging with the Health Equity Roadmap, hospitals and health systems:

• take the Health Equity Transformation Assessment;
• follow tailored action plans and resources provided by AHA and based on each hospital’s unique circumstances;
• and engage with the Roadmap’s virtual community of other hospitals undertaking similar work.”

The Health Equity Roadmap is free to all AHA member hospitals.

“Studies have shown that racial health inequities are associated with substantial annual economic losses nationally, including at least $10 billion in illness-related lost productivity and $200 billon in premature deaths,” the release adds. “Eliminating health inequities also can lead to improved patient engagement in their care process and better health outcomes; decreased readmissions; and improved performance in value-based contracts through better care management, among other outcomes or improvements.”

Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO was quoted in the release saying that “The bottom line is this: Accelerating efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion is the right thing to do for patients, communities and organizations, and for the entire healthcare system. The Health Equity Roadmap is an important step as we strive to create a just society of healthy communities, where all individuals reach their highest potential for health.”