EOHHS, RIDOH select six teams for Rhode to Equity initiative

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Executive Office of Health & Human Services and the R.I. Department of Health jointly announced Tuesday that six teams participating in the Rhode to Equity program will receive $775,000 in total funding to improve both health and social outcomes in the Ocean State.

The departments said the Rhode to Equity program, an initiative created by EOHHS’s Health Systems Transformation Project and RIDOH, is a 12-month learning and action collaborative to provide the six cross-sector teams the chance to test and evaluate strategies in order to improve communities’ health and social outcomes. The teams will also engage with peers in learning sessions to explore “cross pollination” of ideas and understanding, EOHHS and RIDOH said.

Each team will partner one of the state’s health equity zones with a Medicaid accountable entity, a primary care local clinic, community health teams, community-based organizations, and individuals with lived experience of inequities, the state departments said.

“Racism is a driving force behind all social determinants of health – housing, food accessibility, quality of health care – and we need innovative collaborations like the Rhode to Equity initiative to further our goal of creating a more equitable public health system in our state,” said EOHHS Secretary Womazetta Jones in a statement. “The health equity zones and Medicaid accountable entities already have strong connections within the communities they serve and having community members who have experienced inequities at the table will only strengthen their collective work.”

EOHHS and RIDOH said the teams will participate in a two-part informational session facilitated by Dr. Somava Saha, founder of Executive Lead, and Seth Fritsch at Well Being and Equity in the World, an organization committed to advancing intergenerational well-being and equity on a foundation of racial justice, starting Wednesday and July 29.

The six teams, and who they are partnering with, are:

• The Central Providence Health Equity Zone: Partnering with Providence Community Health Center to serve medically vulnerable and chronically homeless patients to address housing insecurity.
• The East Providence Health Equity Zone: Partnering with East Bay Community Action Program and Integrated Health Partners to continue their efforts from the Diabetes Health Equity Challenge to continue their Produce to People program, connecting individuals managing diabetes with fresh produce.
• The Pawtucket Central Falls Health Equity Zone: Continues to partner with Integra Community Care Network, Family Services of Rhode Island, and Progreso Latino to provide access to nutritionally appropriate emergency food for people with diabetes in these cities.
• The Washington County Health Equity Zone: Partnering with Integra Community Care Network, Thundermist Health Center, South County Medical Group, and the South County Community Health Team to address behavioral health service needs in the region.
• The 02907 Health Equity Zone: Partnering with Prospect CharterCARE, Providence Community Health Center, St. Joseph Health Center, Family Services of Rhode Island, the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, and others to increase capacity to address housing as a critically important social determinant of health, with a focus on reducing asthma related emergency room visits.
• The Woonsocket Health Equity Zone: Partnering with resident leaders and Thundermist Health Center to utilize an EOHHS ecosystem data query to address the intersection of social determinants of health, behavioral health and chronic disease.

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.