St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children Annual Health Equity Report
Welcome to the 2nd Annual Health Equity Report
Health equity is at the core of who we are. Ensuring we deliver the very best of care to each and every patient, as well as working to address detrimental health determinants such as economic instability, food insecurity, and lack of access to education is our mission and our pledge. We have undertaken numerous initiatives that demonstrate our commitment and that are beginning to show progress.
On July 8th, 2019, SCHC signed the 123Equity pledge (http://www.equityofcare.org), making
a commitment to accelerate progress toward eliminating health inequity and health care disparities that continue to exist for far too many racially, ethnically and culturally diverse individuals. There has been an increase in efforts to address health inequities throughout the hospital in the last few years, but there is much work to be done. Some of these health inequities have become even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic and we are working hard to address them.
This 2020 report offers a timeline of events, an update on some of SCHC’s long-standing programs and partnerships that promote health equity, as well as our vision and strategic plan.
While this detailed report highlights the important work that SCHC continues to do, it also demonstrates the numerous areas for improvement needed at SCHC to ensure health equity for all. We aim to establish an office of health equity and an office of diversity and inclusion to collaboratively build on our successes and address our shortcomings.
We recognize that this report is by no means complete. By further engaging our SCHC community in the coming year, we look forward to a 3rd annual report that highlights progress made toward a better, more equitable SCHC.
Respectfully,
Hans Kersten, MD
Rita Guevara, MD
Kelly Courts, MPH
Vanessa Durand, DO
