The Community Health Care Association of NYS (the Association) and the NYS Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (the Council) are proud to continue our work to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion in healthcare by providing specialized training for community health centers and behavioral health agencies in New York City and Long Island. The multi-session trainings, which were provided for our upstate members earlier this year and will continue with a second cohort of New York City and Long Island based members beginning tomorrow, are made possible through funding from The Delta Center for a Thriving Safety Net through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The training will be presented by acclaimed health care and public policy advocate Tekisha Dwan Everette, Ph.D. of Health Equity Solutions, whose passion for social justice was fueled by her personal experiences as a child who experienced a delayed asthma diagnosis and faced years of challenges accessing and navigating the health care system.
“For more than 50 years, the Association has fought alongside our members to end the systemic racism that has plagued the U.S. healthcare system, providing high-quality, affordable care to anyone who walked through our Community Health Centers’ doors,” said Association President and CEO Rose Duhan. “Thanks to our funding partners, we will continue to provide trainings like this one to ensure that Community Health Centers can continue to innovate and be the standard bearers for the country as we work to correct years of harm inflicted by a racist and inequitable health care system.”
“Research consistently shows that people from racial and ethnic minority groups experience poorer health outcomes and when faced with a mental health and/or addictions disorder this is exacerbated even more,” said Lauri Cole, Executive Director of the NYS Council. “The moment is now for us to advance effective health equity solutions that will change the lives of the individuals and families we serve for generations to come. We are grateful to our funders and for their prioritization of these issues. We are most proud of the staff from our member agencies that are stepping up across the state to attend these trainings and begin to make real reforms in their organizations.”
The four-module training, which begins June 15 and reconvenes once a month through September, includes the following sessions:
- Module 1 – Foundational Health Equity Concepts – June 15
- Focusing on a deeper understanding of key DEI concept, how they relate to health and social determinants of health, and evaluating them through different health care delivery modes, including telehealth.
- Focusing on a deeper understanding of key DEI concept, how they relate to health and social determinants of health, and evaluating them through different health care delivery modes, including telehealth.
- Module 2 – Racism, Anti-Racism, and Racial Equity – July 20
- Understanding these terms in a health context and their relationship to health and health outcomes; also focused on opportunities and challenges with telehealth.
- Understanding these terms in a health context and their relationship to health and health outcomes; also focused on opportunities and challenges with telehealth.
- Module 3 – The Role of Primary Care and Behavioral Health in Health Equity – August 17
- Exploring the connections between primary care, behavioral health, and health equity and how, in partnership, health equity can be improved.
- Exploring the connections between primary care, behavioral health, and health equity and how, in partnership, health equity can be improved.
- Module 4 – Providing Care with a Cultural Humility Lens – September 21
- Developing an understanding of the principles of cultural humility while also providing examples of this through telehealth settings.
The Community Health Care Association of NYS is the voice of Community Health Centers, which serve as leading providers of primary care in New York State. We represent more than 70 CHCs that serve approximately 2.3 million New Yorkers each year at 800 sites in medically underserved communities statewide. CHCs are non-profit, community run clinics that provide high-quality, cost effective primary and dental care, including behavioral health and social support services, to anyone seeking it, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. Each CHC is governed by a consumer-majority board of directors who seek to identify and prioritize the services most needed by their communities.
The NYS Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare is an outcome-oriented statewide, non-profit, membership organization composed of over 100 community-based organizations that provide recovery-focused mental health and/or substance abuse/chemical dependence and addiction treatment programs and services for New Yorkers in need. NYS Council members offer a broad array of behavioral health services designed to meet the unique needs of children and adolescents, individuals and families seeking our assistance. Our services are available in a variety of community settings including freestanding agencies, behavioral health divisions of general hospitals, and county mental hygiene programs.
For additional information about these trainings, NYS Council organizations, or members, please contact:
TIFFANY PORTZER
VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS (SHE/HER)
518-795-3663
COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION of New York State