PROVIDENCE – Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island has awarded Women & Infants Hospital its first People4Equity designation, a new honor the insurer gives in recognition of accessible care.
The state insurer established People4Equity to recognize hospitals that, by facilitating access, improve health outcomes and patient experiences, particularly among communities that have historically faced inequity in health care.
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The award “represents Neighborhood’s pledge to ensure all individuals, regardless of background, feel visible, supported and safe,” said Rena Sheehan, vice president of clinical strategy and implementation at Neighborhood Health. “We are proud to have Women & Infants Hospital as the first recipient of this designation.”
Neighborhood’s evaluation process looked at various capabilities, including staff training in trauma-informed care and implicit bias; social determinant of health screenings; support for LGBTQIA+ individuals; health literacy and language support; access to doulas; discussion topics in prenatal and postpartum visits; behavioral health screenings; and pregnancy risk assessments.
“Through our partnership,” Sheehan added, “both organizations are learning from one another, identifying opportunities to extend our equity efforts, and exploring innovative ways to strengthen maternal care across every touchpoint of the birthing journey.”
In its announcement of the award, Women & Infants Hospital emphasized this work as essential to address inequity. In prenatal and postnatal care, Black, Hispanic and other nonwhite birthing people continue to face severe disparities, with studies consistently showing higher rates of preterm birth, very low birth weight and deaths of birthing parents, according to data from Rhode Island Kids Count and the March of Dimes.
“We are honored to partner with Neighborhood on this important work and to be the first hospital in Rhode Island to receive the People4Equity designation,” said Dr. Methodius G. Tuuli, interim president and chief of OB-GYN at Women & Infants Hospital. “This designation acknowledges the deep commitment of the hospital and our teams to equitable, culturally responsive and patient-centered care. It also underscores how much more we can achieve together as we continue to explore new strategies, refine best practices and strengthen outcomes for all the families we serve.”
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
