Add-on Experiences

The Waypoint Technical Assistance

8:00 am – 12:00 pm CT

The Institute for Diversity and Health Equity invites you to attend The Waypoint, a convening for hospitals and health systems that are engaged in the Health Equity Roadmap. Under the guidance of technical assistance providers, leaders working in AHA member hospitals will be walked through how to complete the Health Equity Transformation Assessment and Transformation Action Planners, engage in peer-to-peer connection and learn strategies to communicate progress from hospital leaders. Only those who are currently enrolled in the HETA should register for this workshop. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Receive technical assistance for up to two levers of transformation.  
• Engage in a peer-to-peer exchange for implementing the Health Equity Roadmap. 
• Network to share current health equity strategies. 

Community Benefit: How Hospitals Work to Improve Access, Community Health and Equity

8:00 am – 12:00 pm CT 

Join the Catholic Health Association for a condensed version of its popular Community Benefit 101 program: a high-level introduction to hospital community benefit and the important role it plays in improving community health. During this pre-conference session, leaders at Catholic Health Association, Lyon Software and several hospitals will speak about the mission and legal imperatives for hospital community benefit, what programs and activities count, and how hospitals, community organizations and public health can work together to identify, prioritize and address community health needs. Participants will also learn ways to embed equity into partnerships and all aspects of community benefit programming. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Understand the basics of community benefit: what it is, what it involves and how it's reported. 
• Learn how to integrate equity into all aspects of community benefit programming. 
• Identify strategies for community stakeholders to work together to improve community health and reduce disparities. 

Health Equity Integration: Adaptable Tools for Use in Your Everyday Work

10:00 am – 12:00 pm CT

The importance of considering health equity and diversity, equity and inclusion in all aspects of our work has become apparent. But how do we do it? What can we do in our day-to-day work to make a substantial difference? How do we shift from relying on a few experts who take care of health equity to making it fundamental in everyone’s work? 

This workshop, run by Children’s Mercy Kansas City and UMKC School of Medicine representatives, will define and discuss the concept of health equity integration. Attendees will learn about an approach that can be used by anyone in any area of academic pediatrics, including patient care, education, quality & safety, research and advocacy. This simple, adaptable question-based method has been used by the workshop co-leaders and others to expand perspectives on health equity and change team culture in multiple settings, such as pediatric health centers, quality and safety collaboratives, residency programs, research centers and professional organizations. 

After discussing the importance and advantages of fundamentally integrating health equity perspectives into the regular work of all individuals and teams, attendees will learn how to use and adapt specific health equity integration tools in their settings. They also will set personal goals for increasing the inclusion of health equity perspectives in their own work. Attendees will leave the workshop with new insights, a new network of fellow innovators and copies of all tools – including ideas on how to customize and use them. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Describe the importance and advantages of integrating health equity perspectives into everyday work in academic and health care settings rather than solely using them in special efforts. 
• Use specific provided tools and adapt them to your own work settings, including leadership, administrative, clinical, quality/safety and other hospital contexts. 
• Create three personal health equity integration goals with actionable plans by the end of the workshop. 

Thriving Together: Transformational Practices for Advancing Health Equity

10:00 am – 12:00 pm CT 

In the evolving health care landscape, many hospital systems face the challenge of providing health care services while also participating as full partners in community-wide efforts for equitable health and well-being. To create equitable communities, we need to build structures and partnerships that will help us move complex systems in new directions. The question is: how do we build bridges and move from “business as usual” to a new future; one where everyone thrives with no exceptions? 

During this interactive workshop, Lehigh Valley Health Network, a network of 13 hospital campuses and outpatient care locations across eastern Pa., and The Rippel Foundation's ReThink Health initiative will help participants imagine what it takes to create a future of equitable health and well-being in their communities. LVHN has a history of working deeply in communities to address access to care and patients' social needs. In recent years, LVHN has begun exploring how to also add a longer-term view for creating systems change and sustainable health impacts. LVHN uses practical frameworks, like the Well-Being Portfolio, to inform strategic partnerships, prioritize community health efforts, and engage the community to shift towards a more holistic view of health and well-being. Along with a community partner, LVHN will share examples of the types of partnerships and frameworks they use to bring the various components of this work together. 

All community health leaders and health equity professionals are invited to join this session and learn about the Three Horizons and Vital Conditions for Equitable Health and Well-Being frameworks. Whether you are reshaping your community health plans, building out a new project with community partners or trying to make gradual changes, you’ll want to hear how these frameworks can help move your organization from “business as usual” to a future that centers equity and creates space for innovation.   

Learning Objectives: 

• Further understand the role of hospitals and health care in supporting the vital conditions in your communities. 
• Identify longer-term, generational investments that impact health equity in the communities you serve. 
• Create shared language and narrative to make the case for shifting investments to focus on the vital conditions for equitable health and well-being. 

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum tells a story larger than baseball: it informs the ongoing work taking place to achieve equity in health and health care. The world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America, the NLBM gives a voice to a once forgotten chapter of American history. 

During this community immersion experience, attendees will tour the museum before listening to a conversation between museum president Bob Kendrick and Jason E. Glenn, PhD, associate professor of history and philosophy of medicine at the Kansas City-based University of Kansas Medical Center. Their insights into how the history of baseball in America shaped the players, their communities and the structure of sports today will draw striking parallels to the history of health care delivery. The lessons drawn from the stories of the players from the past are important to consider when working to dismantle racist structures that persist.  

Operation Breakthrough

Operation Breakthrough is the largest single-site daycare center in the state of Missouri, caring for nearly 600 children each day. This community immersion experience will include a bus tour with several stops, each providing a glimpse of the resilience it takes to raise a family in poverty. During this time, parents and local agency representatives will share personal stories of working through recovery, homelessness, public transportation challenges, domestic violence and employment struggles.  

Following the bus tour, participants will tour Operation Breakthrough’s space and see the impact of programming that provides a safe, loving and educational environment for children, while empowering families through education, advocacy and emergency services. 

Uzazi Village and BlaqOut

This community immersion experience includes a visit to two local nonprofits: Uzazi Village and BlaqOut. These are two community-based, Black-founded and Black-run organizations that serve the Black community, focusing on its health and well-being. Uzazi Village serves Black childbearing families with a prenatal clinic and doula services, while BlaqOut provides health care and advocacy services geared toward the Black LGBTQ+ community. Together, they provide culturally-safe and culturally-congruent health care spaces for the Black community’s specialized needs.  

Participants will tour the Uzazi Village facility, which includes the Ida Mae Patterson Center for Maternal and Infant Wellness -- the organization’s culturally-congruent prenatal care model. The tour will then proceed to Uzazi Village’s community garden and outdoor meditation space, before attendees will be able to view the architectural renderings of the future birth center. Finally, staff will provide participants with an overview of the Afro-centric philosophy of care offered at Uzazi Village and how it positively impacts perinatal health inequities. 

Attendees will then tour BlaqOut’s BlaqBox, a 6,000-square-foot “safe space” – the first of its kind in Kansas City. Attendees will explore the organization’s redevelopment plans, and learn about BlaqOut’s history, its impact on the community and its promising future. As the first and only health care provider in the greater Kansas City metro area founded by and devoted to the Black LGBTQ+ community, BlaqOut makes a significant impact on health care delivery and outcomes through its innovative Whole Health Access Model™, which seamlessly integrates Direct Primary Care, the 340B Drug Pricing Program and a state-of-the-art medical home at the organization’s community-based Midtown clinic. 

Visit the Registration Fees page to learn more about attendance assistance and register.