Health Collaboration to Address Health Disparities During the COVID-19 Pandemic
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July 15, 2020
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FTI Consulting's Meg Guerin-Calvert joined Maria Whyte, Deputy County Executive, Erie County, Rev. George Nicholas, Pastor, Lincoln Memorial United Methodist Church, and Raul Vazquez, M.D., F.A.A.F.P, CEO, Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network Health Home CEO, Greater Buffalo United Independent Practice Association Physician, Urban Family Practice, P.C. to moderate a webinar on “Health Collaboration to Address Health Disparities during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
The webinar is one of a series sponsored by the Action Collaborative on Business Engagement in Building Healthy Communities to share the experiences and initiatives of private-public collaboratives as they seek to address the COVID pandemic’s impact in their communities. The Action Collaborative is an ad hoc activity associated with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Roundtable on Population Health Improvement; Ms. Guerin-Calvert serves as one of the Collaborative’s Co-Chairs.
Early data trends in the Buffalo NY metro area (Erie County) revealed COVID-19 fatality rates of greater than 33% among African Americans in the region. The webinar presents how a unique partnership of faith-based, community, government, public health, and healthcare leaders came together to mobilize resources to respond quickly and effectively to this disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Across the partnership, leaders collected and shared extensive data on health conditions, risks, outcomes, and social determinants of health; they used trusted relationships and resources to reach deep into the community to improve access and use of care. The webinar shares results, including a reported dramatic reduction in the African American mortality rates in the area and enhanced engagement across many partners around broader health and equity issues.
For more about public-private partnerships on business engagement for health and economic well-being and the linkages between poor health and economic impact, click here.
Published
July 15, 2020
Key Contacts
Senior Managing Director, President, Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy