Diversification Can Open Door to Success
By Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, The Colorado Trust
When we talk about health equity, we are talking about the need to assure that everyone has an equitable opportunity to be healthy. There is a remarkable group of policymakers, grantmakers and others in the health care field who focus on addressing social and economic obstacles such as poverty, education, discrimination and lack of available health care and transportation, faced by many individuals, particularly racial and ethnic minorities. This group designs strategies and programs intended to assist people of color in overcoming these challenges, but seldom authentically engages and partners with the affected individuals and communities in identifying, developing and implementing solutions.
At the fourth presentation in our Health Equity Learning Series on September 12, three highly-regarded foundation leaders shared their successes, challenges and lessons in working toward health equity. Among the ideas put forward was one from the Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF) in Portland, Oregon. NWHF serves all of Oregon as well as five counties in southwest Washington.
Nicole Maher, President and CEO of NWHF, shared how diverse the Portland community is. One in three adults and six in 10 children are people of color; half are under 18 years of age. Several years ago, NWHF noticed a lack of grant applications from communities of color, even though those populations suffer some of the worst health disparities in its area. Working with the Coalition of Communities of Color, the foundation received feedback about their philanthropy efforts. It learned that all six local ethnic communities had negative experiences with philanthropy. White organizations and agencies were getting most of the grants to help people of color, rather than the grants going directly to the affected communities. NWHF began to look at how to have different relationships with minority communities and how to change the way it does business.
Today, half of the NWHF’s investments go to communities of color. The “case for equity” is used in every decision. In addition, the foundation is working to assure their staff and leadership, including their governing board, reflects the diversity they feel supports their mission. Those of us working in the health and philanthropy arenas understand the importance of creating health equity and believe we have some solutions for the problems. However, if we haven’t walked a mile in the shoes of someone who has experienced racial bias, or of a single mother who struggles to put healthy food on the table, or of an elderly person whose doctor makes her feel that her life isn’t worth the trouble, we cannot truly understand what it means to suffer health inequities.
As we review how we make grants and develop funding strategies, we plan to include the people directly affected by health inequities. The Colorado Trust plans to partner with communities on solutions to advance fair opportunities for all Coloradans to be healthy.
If you missed the September 12 presentation, or would like to share it with others, please see our website. We hope you will join us for the next Health Equity Learning Series event on November 15. Anthony Iton, MD, Senior Vice President, The California Endowment and Winston Wong, MD, Medical Director, Kaiser Permanente, will speak about solutions for tackling social determinants of health. If you are interested in attending the discussion or live-streaming it online, please sign up for more information.
