Imagine you arrive in a new country and have a medical need, but you don’t speak the local language and don’t know how or where to find care. In recent weeks, thousands of migrants to the United States have fallen into that category, after being transported from the southern border to communities around the country.
At VNA Health Care, one of the largest community health centers in the country with 16 facilities across the Chicago suburbs, we were recently asked to provide care to people who migrated to the area. ours. In collaboration with the state, local health department and other stakeholders, our team provided the most urgent care at the hotel where the migrants were staying using our mobile medical van. us and provide tracking services at our clinics, with transportation provided by the local YMCA. This kind of work and collaboration on the ground is fundamental to how the CHCs work.
Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, CHC, also known as a federally qualified medical center, has a central mission of improving access to care and reducing health disparities. Our efforts always have a stronger impact as we work in the healthcare continuum and engage the entire community. As evidenced by our recent experience with new migrants, CHCs, hospitals, health systems, other healthcare organizations, community-based organizations and community leaders have a lot of experience working together. However, more cooperation will be needed to meet the future needs of an increasingly diverse and aging society.
Healthcare leaders know the most effective care is built on a foundation of best practices and addresses cultural needs and preferences. In some communities, CHCs and health systems have developed clinical procedures in care settings that take into account the customs and lifestyles of the diverse populations they serve. Measuring baseline information about health disparities as well as the impact of our initiatives is essential as we strive to address factors that influence health.
Healthcare organizations have an excellent opportunity to work together to identify individuals with needs related to social determinants of health, needs that might otherwise be overlooked—and then address those needs. Identifying homeless individuals and developing care plans with patients, hospitals, and primary care providers is one such example. In the future, more work at the community level will be important. CHC, other health organizations, and local community and urban leaders in several regions have collaborated to identify and address the root causes of homelessness. These innovative, collaborative initiatives have enormous potential to improve the health of individuals and communities at large. Tools like the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Institute of Population Health, will help inform future team efforts.
