People from around the country are gathering in Cleveland this week for a health equity conference, talking about issues like food insecurity, gender affirming care and mental health equity.
The American Hospital Association is holding its first in-person health equity conference since the pandemic began. It was supposed to be in Cleveland in 2020 but was delayed because of COVID-19.
Although the conference is in Cleveland, attendees include people from around the country, who are gathering to learn more about how to make health care more equitable.
In Cleveland, health equity can mean addressing infant mortality rates and other health disparities that primarily affect Black Clevelanders, MetroHealth’s Chief Equity Officer Alan Nevel said. But health equity means different things around the country.
“It could be socioeconomic discrimination, not just racial discrimination," he said. "When we think about the 40 plus characteristics of diversity, we know that there are people not getting the health care they need and that they deserve. It’s not isolated to one community in particular."
The conference could bring together about 1,000 health care providers and advocates, Nevel said.
TriHealth in Cincinnati is focused on making their physician staff and leadership more diverse, said Tashawna Otabil, the hospital's Chief Diversity Officer. She said she's looking for information on how to change things, not just how to raise awareness of the issue.
“We’re not doing a lot of discussion about how to solve for that, so I’m really hoping to get some best practices and other techniques on really how to address the issues that are really impacting our communities," she said.
The conference takes place through Thursday.
