New Report: Community Leaders, Consumers, And Healthcare Experts Recommend Solutions For Immediate Implementation In D.C. Region

“Tired of Talking Only About Problems,” Public Calls For Specific Specialty Care And Community Wellness Initiatives

 First-Ever Call To Action Based On Conversations With Community

Washington, DC— To improve the health care of the Washington, DC Metropolitan area,  a report released today by the Consumer Health Foundation (CHF) specifically recommends a regional network of specialist physicians to care for the uninsured and new incentives for programs that improve the life and health of the community. The report, which draws its conclusions from five Washington area Community Health Speakout events held in 2004 and 2005, is the first to gather solutions to the region’s healthcare crisis directly from community members.  

“The Consumer Health Foundation is committed to improving the health of our region from the ground up,” says CHF President and CEO Margaret O’Bryon. “What is so important about this report is that for the first time we have gone out into the community to find out exactly what people in the Washington area want and need to improve their health and healthcare. And, what we heard is that people are tired of talk, they are ready for a change.”

The Washington Metropolitan area has higher than average rates of infant mortality, cancer, heart disease, asthma, and HIV/AIDS. Middle and low-income families in the region struggle with access to primary and specialty care, affordable healthcare coverage, language and cultural barriers, and difficulty enrolling and staying enrolled in public health insurance programs like Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Across the region, grantmakers, community groups, and local governments are engaged in broad efforts to address the area’s pressing health and health care issues—particularly access to primary care. However, the report finds that in many cases, successful ideas, lessons learned, and innovative programs are not being shared across state, city and county lines.

The new report, Speaking Up and Speaking Out for Health: A Community Call to Action to Improve Health and Health Care in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Region  (
If you don’t already have the free Adobe Reader software, you’ll need to download it in order to view this file. Click here ), encourages a region-wide response to the health care crisis and offers up six solid and actionable recommendations: 

• Develop a blueprint for a regional specialty care delivery network for the uninsured.
• Create a personalized, one-stop, regional health information and referral center that will connect consumers to existing resources and services and empower them to demand high-quality, affordable healthcare.
• Invest in programs that seek to build a more diverse healthcare workforce.
• Launch a regional community health data project, beginning with information on health status and disparities
• Engage in community-wide health equality dialogues that address racial and ethnic health disparities, particularly the impact of structural racism on the health and well-being of communities of color in the region.
• Designate neighborhood Wellness Opportunity Zones where incentives are provided for innovative connections between and among all public and private policies, programs and practices affecting health and well-being.

Report authors call on community leaders, government officials, local health departments, healthcare providers, grantmakers, and advocacy organizations to work together as a metropolitan area to implement the community’s recommendations.

“The healthcare problems we see aren’t limited to one city or one county—they are visible across the region,” says O’Bryon. “The recommendations from this report build upon the great work currently being done and set the stage for a new level of reforms with the idea that if we come together across county, city, and state lines—sharing knowledge and resources—we will all be stronger and healthier for it.”

Additional recommendations offered by the community to improve regional health can be found here  

Methods

In 2004 and 2005 CHF held five Community Health Speakout events focused on hearing healthcare consumers’ solutions to the healthcare challenges facing the Washington,  D.C.metropolitan area. Three of the events, hosted in the District and Prince George’s County, were traditional speakout events where community members voiced their opinions in an open forum. The remaining two events, were focus groups of Latinos held at Fiesta D.C. and the Latin American Youth Center, and a focus group of Arlington Free Clinic patients.

About The Consumer Health Foundation

CHF is the only private foundation working throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region whose mission is dedicated solely to health equity, access, and consumer empowerment.

Within our mission, our work centers on reducing the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities that exist in accessing health care and health outcomes.

We will support consumers in their efforts to take control of their own health and participate in all levels of health care decisions. To achieve this, we will integrate consumer voices, interests, and needs into our work.