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Category: Virginia Initiatives

The Equity Equation

The Equity Equation

The Equity Equation webinar series examines health equity issues and highlights policy and systems-level solutions in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

Through this series we aim to: 

  • Highlight pressing and emerging public health issues that have significant impact on health equity and racial justice.   
  • Draw connections between regional health outcomes, health inequities and root causes such as racism, sexism, classism, etc. 
  • Analyze the implications of past, present and/or proposed policies on the health of specific communities or population health in our region. 
  • Identify potential policy and systems strategies that target the social determinants of health and their distribution among communities and populations to reduce inequities. 

Upcoming webinars 

Please save the date for the webinars listed below! Registration links will be posted as they become available. 

Previous webinars 

Recordings from past webinars:  

“Power in Policy: Driving Change for Black Maternal Health” April 15, 2024

This webinar featured:  

  • Dr. Tamara Henry, Ed.D., George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health
  • Angelia Williams Graves of the Virginia Senate, 21st district
  • Krystal Oriadha from Prince George‘s County Council, District 7

After watching the webinars, please complete this feedback survey.  

“The American Life Expectancy Crisis” February 27, 2024

This webinar featured:  

  • Steven Woolf, MD, MPH, Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health 
  • Amy Wentz, Co-Founder of Southside ReLeaf 
  • Councilwoman Cynthia Newbille, PhD, MA, Richmond City Council, 7th District 

After watching the webinars, please complete this feedback survey.  

Resources/Reading lists 

Here are developed reading lists and resources for a deeper dive into the these topics. 

To learn more about The Equity Equation, please contact IPHI training at [email protected]. 

Collaborative Neurologic Solutions

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Collaborative Neurologic Solutions

Collaborative Neurologic Solutions is a multi-state, community-led response to address the unmet needs of individuals and families impacted by neurologic health conditions.

IPHI collaborates with health and social care-related organizations to improve the quality of life for community members impacted by complex neurologic diseases. The team works to increase access to the resources needed to support community members’ quality of life.

The team works in the following key areas to achieve this vision:

  • Navigating health and social care systems
  • Community outreach and engagement
  • Professional education
  • Cross-sector collaborations

The team uses innovative, data-driven technology to map available resources for neurological disease communities. This technology reveals gaps in care, identifies organizations capable of implementing solutions, and showcases existing resources. The team gathers real experiences and opinions of people impacted by neurologic health conditions to prioritize and guide the work from design to evaluation.

This work creates equitable systems to maximize existing resources through awareness and directs resources to under-resourced communities and issues.

Scope of work: 

Collaborative Neurologic Solutions engages people living with neurological health conditions, care partners, and professionals in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia to deliver solutions addressing their most urgent needs. The team offers navigation tools, professional training and education, public awareness, and community engagement support.

Explore an example here:

To learn more about the Collaborative Neurologic Solutions project, please contact Senior Program Manager Lauren Ruiz at [email protected] or 202.987.2540.

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Rural Multiple Sclerosis Solutions

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Rural Multiple Sclerosis Solutions

Improving access to diagnostic and support resources for rural populations impacted by multiple sclerosis in Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In 2022, IPHI expanded its focus to include support for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) and medical providers in rural areas. This 3-year project is funded by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation.

Through the project, IPHI and various community partners will:

  1. Create a tool to simplify navigation for people seeking MS resources.
  2. Provide education and training to service providers.
  3. Improve access, delivery, and use of MS care for people living with MS in rural areas.
  4. Increase public awareness about MS, including its risk factors, early signs and symptoms, and treatment options.

Many rural residents impacted by complex, chronic health conditions like MS often do not get the help or social services needed. Rural residents are burdened because services and resources do not exist in the area or are inaccessible due to barriers like transportation, cost, awareness, technology, mistrust, etc. As a result, people living in rural areas can go undiagnosed longer, face misdiagnoses, experience more treatment disruptions, and receive less support to address social determinants of health.

Scope of work:

The IPHI team is focusing on identifying and improving access in rural communities. Through the grant, non-specialty health providers will receive education and training on MS risk factors, early signs and symptoms, treatments, and resources. Rural residents will be engaged through convenings, focus groups, interviews, and community events to increase awareness of MS and connect affected residents to resources. Other activities include collaborating with mobile health units and similar community-based services to reach people where they are.

In partnership with VirginiaNavigator, IPHI will create a network map of health and social support resources in the project’s target area. The team will also establish Navigation Centers where community leaders will be trained on how to use the network map and provide navigation assistance. All activities will be informed by people living with MS, care partners, and community professionals.

The project will focus on these rural communities (collaborations and resources may be state-wide):

  • Maryland
    • Caroline County
    • Garrett County
  • Virginia
    • Brunswick County
    • Buckingham County
    • Charlotte County
    • Cumberland County
    • Danville
    • Henry County
    • Louisa County
    • Lunenburg County
    • Martinsville
    • Nottoway County
    • Orange County
    • Patrick County
    • Pittsylvania County
    • Prince Edward County
  • North Carolina
    • Caswell County
    • Duplin County
    • Greene County
    • Jones County
    • Lenoir County
    • Montgomery County
    • Surry County
    • Wilkes County
  • West Virginia
    • Fayette County
    • Marion County
    • McDowell County
    • Mercer County
    • Monroe County
    • Preston County
    • Raleigh County
    • Summers County
    • Wetzel County
    • Wyoming County

Upcoming Training:

First (1st) Wednesday of each month from noon to 1 p.m. EST – Launching January 3, 2024

The West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI), Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Neurodegenerative Diseases Program focus on diagnosing, managing, and treating MS and other neurological diseases in the primary care setting. This training is offered free of charge to all participants. For more information, visit: here.

Topics Covered

  • Early Symptoms & Diagnosing MS
  • Monitoring MS
  • MS Therapies
  • Patient-Centered Care
  • Neurological Diseases
REGISTER

Resources:

Provide input to design an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) practice model, which aims to increase knowledge and confidence in treating patients with MS and neurodegenerative diseases.

Explore a prototype of the network map that identifies organizations located in or serving residents of Virginia living with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, ALS, Huntington’s disease (HD), MS, and Parkinson’s disease.

Learn more about issues affecting rural areas and how to identify counties for intervention.

Help recruit new collaborators by identifying key service providers and sharing these materials.

Understand the perspectives and priorities of people impacted by MS in rural areas by hearing key insights from a convening hosted in rural Virginia.

Acknowledgments:

Special thanks to our funders and partners:

  • Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation
  • Can Do MS
  • MS Alliance
  • VirginiaNavigator
  • West Virginia Clinical & Translational Science Institute

To learn more about Rural MS Solutions Project, please contact Senior Program Manager Lauren Ruiz at [email protected] or 202.987.2540.

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CHWs for a Healthy VA

CHWS FOR A HEALTHY VIRGINIA

Community Health Workers for a Healthy Virginia (CHWs for a Healthy VA) is a 3-year capacity building project led by IPHI in partnership with a wide range of state and local partners across Virginia.

 

Community Health Workers for a Healthy Virginia logo

The initiative is funded through a national grant initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through the project, IPHI and its partners will deploy CHWs as a strategic intervention to assist communities in the response and recovery from COVID-19. The project will also develop and test innovative financing strategies to support the long-term sustainability of CHWs and community resource providers.

IPHI has partnered with numerous organizations across Virginia to hire CHWs to help with recovery and response. Through the grant, community-based organizations, healthcare providers, local health departments, and other partners will hire and deploy CHWs. IPHI will assist with training and provide technical assistance. These partners are addressing gaps in access to COVID-related services, such as testing, vaccination, and quarantine support, and responding to community needs exacerbated by COVID-19, such as access to health and mental health care, housing services, and food assistance.

IPHI is identifying high-priority communities and populations that would benefit the most from CHW interventions. Currently, the project focuses on Richmond and surrounding areas and southwest Virginia’s Mount Rogers area.

CHW regional conveners are working on expanding collaborations, increasing CHW’s presence, and informing external partners about IPHI’s work with CHWs. The following regional conveners are represented in each of the four areas:

  • Norfolk State University
  • Healing Hands Health Center
  • Richmond/Henrico Health District
  • Virginia Rural Health Association

IPHI works closely with the Virginia Community Health Worker’s Association to highlight  CHW voices in Virginia.

Partners in Four Areas of Need

Southwest VA/Mt Rogers 

  • Ballad Health
  • Healing Hands Health Center
  • Mount Rogers Health District

Norfolk/Portsmouth

  • Capital Center of VA (CCVA) – Urban Baby Beginnings (UBB)
  • Minority AIDS Support Services, Inc. (MASS)
  • Sentara Healthcare

Pittsylvania/Danville

  • Piedmont Access to Health Services (PATHS)
  • Sovah Health (Life Point)

Richmond/Petersburg

  • Richmond Henrico Health District (RHHD)
  • Central VA Health Services (CVHS)
  • Capital Center of VA (CCVA) – Urban Baby Beginnings (UBB)
  • Crossover Health Center
  • Health Brigade
  • Sacred Heart
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

CHWs for a Healthy Virginia project also intends to address the issue of sustainable financing for CHW programs. Historically, CHW-based community impact models has been limited by a lack of viable financing options. IPHI is developing a framework to identify, pilot, and evaluate CHW and community resource financing models. Then, in collaboration with local partners, IPHI will develop and pilot region-specific financing models for CHW and community resource providers to evaluate and demonstrate the return on investment and social benefits.

 

This CHWs for a Healthy VA project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of financial assistance awards totaling over $13 million, with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

To learn more about CHWs for a Healthy VA, please contact Senior Program Manager Valerie McAllister at [email protected] or visit: chwsforahealthyva.com

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IPHI Hosts Maryland’s First Statewide Food Summit

IPHI hosted Maryland’s first statewide food summit, Developing a Maryland Food Charter: Statewide Summit, on October 15, 2015. The event included nearly 60 participants from all five regions of the state.

 

The summit focused on the following: 

  • The current status of potential food systems issues at the state-level
  • An overview of the outcomes and themes that arose at the regional convenings
  • Finalizing and prioritizing the strategies across the five food system domains included in the Maryland Food Charter

What is the change you want to see? 

A panel of experts answered this question from Grow & Fortify, Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission, Baltimore Office of Sustainability, Maryland State Department of Education, and Center for a Livable Future. Their perspectives guided the development of the Maryland Food Charter.

All summit participants refined and strengthened strategies that were included in the first-ever food charter. They also assessed the feasibility of the collective action strategies.

To view and download the Maryland Food Charter, click: here.

 

 

Zee Turner Center

Zee Turner Center for CHW Workforce Development

The Zhilphia “Zee” Turner Center for Community Health Worker Workforce Development (Zee Turner Center), formerly known as the Center for Community Health Workforce (CCHW), is a regional center for excellence that advances community health worker (CHW) practice, research, and policy.

The CCHW was launched in 2013 to grow opportunities for peer-based workforce strategies. Specifically, the center was created to develop and support the community-based health workforce and CHWs. The new name, Zee Turner Center, is in memory of CHW Zhilphia “Zee” Turner. Zee Turner was an IPHI employee who dedicated 15 years of her life to serving the Washington, DC, area. As someone who lived with a chronic health condition for 24 years and overcame adversity, Zee used her experience to help communities with substance use addiction and HIV/AIDS.

“When I get notice that people are out of care, I call them. If I get no answer, I send them a letter – or I go knock on their doors. I try to fix some of the barriers that led them out of care and I work with their case workers to get them back to taking their medicines.” 

– Zee Turner in the Washington Informer

Zee was an educator, mentor, and advocate through IPHI’s Positive Pathways initiative. Her unwavering dedication and genuine care for those around her made her a beloved figure in the community. At the 2014 Unity National CHW Conference, Zee was awarded the posthumous Esther M. Holderby CHW Special Recognition Award. IPHI proudly honors her CHW legacy by naming this regional center for excellence after her.

The Zee Turner Center is a CHW center divided into three main groups:

1) Training Programs & Technical Assistance,

2) CHW Initiatives/Implementation, and

3) Policy, Advocacy, and Research

The Zee Turner Center priorities:

  • Develop CHW regional standards and scopes of practice
  • Enhance teaching program for CHW training and continuing education
  • Support CHW network development across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia
  • Consult and provide technical assistance to organizations requesting help in planning, operating, and evaluating CHW programs
  • Support the effective integration of CHWs into clinical and community-based teams and design policies and programs that facilitate CHW retention
  • Research and find innovative CHW models
  • Serve as a clearinghouse for regional. national, and international CHW best practices
  • Support policy development to finance and sustain CHW service models across the region

To learn more about the Zee Turner Center, please contact [email protected] or visit IPHI’s events and webinars page to stay updated with CHW opportunities.

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Cameron Foundation Community Health Needs Assessment

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Community Health Needs Assessment

The Cameron Foundation in Petersburg, VA, partnered with IPHI to update its community health needs assessment (CHNA). The most recent assessment was developed in spring 2023.

The assessment provides a comprehensive review of demographic, socioeconomic, physical environmental, and health indicators, and includes jurisdiction-level forces of change analyses and a summary of existing services and resources in the foundation’s service areas. IPHI led the collection, analysis, and reporting of health indicators, which include clinical and behavioral risk factors, County Health Rankings from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, health outcomes, and life expectancy maps.

IPHI worked with the foundation to frame the report using a health equity lens to link demographics, environmental and socioeconomic factors (e.g., social determinants of health-SDOH) to overall health outcomes and inequities between populations, neighborhoods, and jurisdictions. Among other data in the report, IPHI integrated the Vulnerable Populations Footprint from the Community Commons and census tract life expectancy maps to visually demonstrate the link between adverse SDOH and short life span at the neighborhood level.  IPHI added evidence-based recommendations to guide communities in using the assessment.

To learn more about the Cameron Foundation’s community health needs assessment, please contact [email protected] or visit: www.camfound.org/.

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COVID-19 Response & Recovery

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COVID-19 Response & Recovery

In May 2020, Fairfax County Health Department in Virginia turned to IPHI to assist with swiftly building up its workforce capacity to respond to the pandemic (see the Health Department’s initial press release).

Within less than a month, IPHI recruited, employed, and trained 80 new staff on behalf of Fairfax County. By the end of January 2021, IPHI had hired over 640 employees.  This new surge workforce included case interviewers, contact interviewers, community health workers, epidemiologists, environmental health specialists, call center staff, wellness specialists, and over 50 response team managers.  As the pandemic response shifted to include an emphasis on COVID-19 vaccine access, team members were trained and shifted to support vaccine outreach, education, and provision.

IPHI developed a week-long training program for case and contact interviewers that wrapped around an online, self-guided course offered by Johns Hopkins University.  IPHI also created a separate training program for COVID-19 community health workers.  IPHI’s curricula ensured new hires had the opportunity to practice what they were learning through interactive, adult learning methods.  The IPHI courses were so well-received the health department asked IPHI to include over 250 government employees in the program as well, beyond the IPHI-employed staff. Over the course of its involvement, IPHI has trained well over 1,400 pandemic responders.  In March 2021, the National Network of Public Health Institutes published an article on IPHI’s training program.

In the late summer of 2021, it became clear that a second boost in workforce capacity was required to respond to a new surge in COVID-19 cases in Fairfax County and across the Commonwealth of Virginia due to the Delta variant and, later, Omicron.  IPHI hired and trained hundreds of additional workers in the fall of 2021 who were deployed to not just Fairfax County Health Department but 22 additional Local Health Districts across Virginia.

IPHI has learned a number of key lessons from this work thus far, including:

  • Public/private partnerships can provide efficiency and agility to governmental efforts to expand capacity and effectively respond to public health emergencies.
  • While there is pressure to ramp up quickly, governments and their partners should invest in sufficient upfront training to improve performance and staff satisfaction.
  • Community health workers have a vital role to play in emergency response.

“IPHI is an essential partner in the Health Department’s efforts to contain COVID-19 in Fairfax County.  Recruiting, employing and training hundreds of staff in just a few short months was no small feat. Due to the critical support and capacity IPHI provided, we were able to focus on our role leading the Emergency Response.”
— Gloria Addo-Ayensu, MD, MPH, Director of Health for Fairfax County

To learn more about IPHI’s COVID-19 response and recovery, please contact Senior Director Carolyn Padovano at [email protected].

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Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center

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Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center

IPHI is a proud training provider for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Public Health Training Center (MAR-PHTC).

 

MAR-PHTC is part of a national network of 10 public health training centers funded by the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration to improve the nation’s public health system by strengthening the technical, scientific, managerial, and leadership competence of the current and future public health workforce. MAR-PHTC serves the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania and is based at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.

In addition to the partnership with MAR-PHTC, IPHI has worked with public health departments. We support the Blue Ridge Health District in Virginia as they adapt its internal policies and practices to become an anti-racist organization committed to promoting health equity. Our capacity-building work includes in-depth workshops on strategies and best practices for organizational leadership and equity committees to lead transformational change for equity. We have also guided key administrative issues such as workforce diversity, community engagement, customer service, communications, evaluation, and accountability.

Previous work with health departments includes training and technical assistance with the Richmond City Health District, Peninsula Health District, and Norfolk City Department of Health. We assisted the local health department to develop an Equity and Health in All Policies (EHiAP) approach to local governmental decision-making. We provided training on EHiAP and best practices across the country, strategic support in engaging elected officials and other governmental leaders, and policy expertise in developing and passing local legislation to support using an EHiAP framework.

Our educational and training opportunities include classroom-based instruction, workshops, and online professional development events, as well as tailored technical assistance on the following topics:

  • Public Health
  • Health Equity
  • Equity and Health in All Policies
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Community Health Worker Development
  • Leadership and Management
  • Racism as a Public Health Crisis
  • Cultural Humility
  • Implicit Bias in Public Health and Healthcare
  • Community Engagement
  • Conducting Equity Impact Reviews of Policies, Programs, and Services
  • Communicating Equity to Decision-Makers

To learn more about IPHI public health workforce trainings, please contact us at [email protected].

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FCHD Health Equity Leadership Experience

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FCHD HEALTH EQUITY LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

The Fairfax County Health Department (FCHD) collaborated with IPHI to create a Health Equity Leadership Experience (HELE) program. HELE is a key part of FCHD’s Equity Action Plan for agency leaders, managers, and front-line staff.

 

IPHI’s Healthy and Equitable Communities Workshop, a 16-hour core training on health equity and racial and social justice, helped develop the HELE curriculum.

HELE was designed to lead participants through an exploration of structural racism and other oppressive systems. Based on best practices and IPHI’s experience working in various public health and community settings, the curriculum was adapted to meet FCHD’s needs. The training covers a wide range of topics, such as:

  • Diversity
  • Equity and inclusion
  • Community participation and power
  • Communication skills
  • Action planning

The curriculum uses adult learning theory to ensure that materials, training methods, and small group exercises are relevant to learners’ daily work. Interactive presentation styles use verbal responses, a chat function, Jamboard, Google Docs, polls, and other strategies.

The HELE program was specifically created for FCHD, assisting the department in transforming its organizational culture through a racial and social equity lens. Contact IPHI to explore ways we can support transformative equity initiatives at your organization!

To learn more about how IPHI can help your organization’s health equity initiatives, please contact us at [email protected].

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