Nov 23, 2024 Story by: Editor
Advancing Black Health Equity: California’s Focus on Targeted Care
Health remains a top priority for Black Californians, who actively strive to maintain physical and mental well-being. However, individual efforts alone cannot achieve health equity. To address persistent disparities, California must invest in initiatives that enhance medical care for Black patients.
In late 2023, the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) issued a call for innovative projects aimed at improving clinical care for Black Californians. The response was overwhelming, with proposals from community clinics, hospitals, and tech start-ups statewide, all dedicated to addressing gaps in the care continuum.
Transformative Efforts Through the Pulse of Change Initiative
The CHCF’s Pulse of Change: A Black Health Initiative has awarded grants to eight forward-thinking organizations that aim to create a safer, stronger health care system for Black Californians. These groups possess a deep understanding of the relationship between health systems, cultural strengths, and health outcomes.
Over the next two years, these organizations will implement quality improvement interventions, track their progress, and develop sustainability plans to embed these changes into regular clinical practice. Throughout this journey, lessons learned will be shared to empower health equity leaders to adopt and refine these approaches.
Meet the Innovators Driving Change
- Baywell Health (formerly West Oakland Health Council)
Baywell Health will support 100 Black East Bay residents with uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes by providing culturally concordant patient navigation and social interventions. Efforts include home and community visits, clinic appointments, and follow-ups to manage chronic conditions and increase cancer screening and vaccination rates. - Culture Care
This Berkeley-based telemedicine start-up supports Black pregnant women and birthing individuals through virtual group care. Teams include ob/gyns, mental health therapists, lactation experts, and pediatricians. Culture Care emphasizes equity by offering an all-Black clinician team, complementing primary prenatal care providers. - Marin City Health and Wellness Center
Focused on hypertension control for Black patients, this program will screen for high blood pressure and social needs, offer care management support, and involve families in lifestyle changes to improve overall health. - Riverside Community Health Foundation
This initiative aims to reduce hypertension rates in Riverside County through early screening, mobile health services, and partnerships with community and faith-based organizations. Black patients will receive culturally sensitive care and support from community health workers, ensuring follow-up and patient education. - San Diego Community Birth Center
As San Diego County’s only Black-owned birth center, this project seeks to improve Black maternal and infant health by addressing perinatal anxiety, postpartum depression, and preeclampsia with culturally congruent midwifery care and enhanced coordination with hospitals. - San Ysidro Health
Aiming to increase colorectal cancer screenings among Black patients aged 45 to 75, this pilot program addresses screening barriers through care coordination, patient input, and streamlined follow-up processes. - The Solid Start Initiative
Focused on disrupting intergenerational trauma, this program at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital’s obstetrics clinic will strengthen perinatal depression screenings and mental health care while connecting patients to doulas and care managers. - Sutter Health
Sutter Health will enhance heart failure treatment for Black patients in the East Bay through a virtual pharmacy clinic, food security programs, and collaboration with patients to develop equity indicators and address systemic racism.
A Collective Path Forward
CHCF hopes these initiatives will set a precedent for improving clinical care and fostering health equity for Black Californians. As Pulse of Change leaders implement their plans, the broader health care system will gain invaluable insights into reducing disparities and delivering culturally competent care.
This collective effort signals a step forward in ensuring that Black Californians receive the equitable and effective care they deserve. Source: CHCF
