The Delaware Healthcare Association releases its first ever Health Equity Report.
The Association says it shares a commitment to trying to improve equity in Delaware’s healthcare system.
And the group’s president and CEO Wayne Smith says what its board did was to develop this 15-page report.
“This is the first one; it focuses on what the individual hospital members, general acute care and pediatric hospital members in the Delaware Healthcare Association are doing in pursuit of equity," said Smith. "What there is - is a description of highlights of what members chose to emphasize in terms of speaking to the equity issue within their own individual institutions. So this is a commitment they made. I think almost all of my members have this as a high priority - if not the highest priority (for their institutions).”
Smith says Delaware’s 17 hospitals and health systems joined in creating the Delaware Healthcare Association’s Achieving Health Equity: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement and Agreement.
"I think you’ll see in the report - anybody who accesses it, which is available at deha.org, the individual commitments that our member hospitals are making to ensure that every Delawarean feels like they have access, are treated with respect, that there’s no bias or discrimination in the provision and have distribution to healthcare to those that we serve,” he said.
The statement is a commitment to treat everyone in a dignified and respectful manner regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, or sexual orientation.
Smith says the report highlights specific individual programs the hospitals health systems are undertaking.
He says they include Bayhealth’s Feeding Our Neighbors initiative - a partnership with the Food Bank of Delaware and the American Heart Association to help combat food insecurity.
Another is the Gender Wellness Program for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals at ChristianaCare, which is providing psychotherapy and support services for anyone age 13 and older who may be exploring their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria.
Smith says they plan to release an equity report annually going forward.
