February 7, 2018
Page 17
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O PINION
Better Health Care for Communities of Color
With this huge
responsibility
comes opportunity
m iChael a nDerson -n athe
Throughout our history,
communities of color have
faced multiple barriers to ac-
cessing health care, from sys-
temic discrimination and cul-
tural insensitivity, to the reality
of unaffordability; these com-
munities face more health-re-
lated hardships and an inequitable
system of care. And despite Portland’s
progressive reputation, its history of
racism perpetuates these experiences.
But we can do better.
Health equity is achievable and re-
quires deliberate action on our part.
That’s what we believe at Health Share
of Oregon, where I serve as chief equi-
ty and engagement officer. I feel pas-
sionately that we can do more than just
reduce barriers to care—we can elimi-
nate health disparities.
Health Share is Oregon’s largest co-
ordinated care organization, or CCO,
serving Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
members in Clackamas, Multnomah
and Washington counties. Beginning
in February, Health Share started serv-
ing the majority of all OHP members
across the tri-county area. That’s over
300,000 children, adults and families
and one of every three OHP members
statewide.
With this huge responsibility comes
opportunity.
by
By coordinating care for OHP mem-
bers across the Portland metro region,
we have the opportunity to streamline
community investments and advance
health and wellness based on re-
gion-wide data and through a health eq-
uity lens. We can ensure our
provider network is meeting
the needs of our community
and act even more deliber-
ately and thoughtfully to ad-
vance equity for our mem-
bers. Further, we can reduce
inefficiencies and redun-
dancies, fortify community
ers that specialize in culturally spe-
cific care, including North by North-
east Clinic, Virginia Garcia Memorial
Health Center and the Native Amer-
ican Rehabilitation Association. We
also provide technical assistance to
health plans to help make their models
of care more culturally relevant.
Health Share recently invested $3.3
million to build necessary infrastruc-
ture to grow the Community Health
Worker workforce and increase access
to a culturally specific and communi-
ty-based resources for Oregon Health
Plan members statewide.
When kids are screened for develop-
mental disabilities, they’re more like-
ly to access the support and care they
need to prepare them for kindergarten
and beyond. As part of our commit-
ment to equity, we identified huge
disparities in non-English-speaking
communities, where many families
are unaware of available screenings or
their benefits. We’re partnering with
community organizations, including
Early Learning Hubs, to increase our
outreach to non-English-speaking
families, provide more screening to
kids and connect families with ser-
Health Share recently invested $3.3 million
to build necessary infrastructure to grow the
Community Health Worker workforce and increase
access to a culturally specific and community-
based resources for Oregon Health Plan members
statewide.
interventions, diversify our workforce,
and identify best practices, resulting
in better health, smarter spending and
healthier people across the entire ser-
vice area—the very vision of the coor-
dinated care model.
Although there is much work to be
done, I am proud of our efforts thus far.
In particular, I’m proud of the ways
we’re putting equity into action:
We’re proud to work with provid-
Treatment and care from peers
who’ve been there: For people manag-
ing chronic diseases, working through
mental health challenges or recovering
from addiction, the support of a peer
can lead to better outcomes and great-
er resiliency. We’re working to make
them an integral part of the health care
system, in particular for communities
of color.
Toward equity, from childhood on:
vices to help them learn, grow and
thrive.
As we continue to advance health
equity, we recognize how far we still
have to go, but ultimately look forward
to working with our members and
Portland’s diverse communities on this
journey.
Michael Anderson-Nathe has led
Health Share’s equity and engagement
team since 2014.
A Different Reality on the Ground in Our Cities
Proposals
exacerbate the
challenges
t oni h art
President
Trump confi-
dently declared
that the state
of the union
is strong in
his speech last
week. But, as mayors, we see a
different reality on the ground
in our cities.
So far, the President’s policy
proposals haven’t done enough
to ensure that every American
has an equal opportunity to
by
thrive. To the contrary, these
policies are on track to exac-
erbate the economic, health,
and employment challenges so
many are struggling to over-
come.
The President continues
to promise that the recent
tax reform bill will pro-
vide tremendous relief to
families, but the bill mostly
benefits the super wealthy
and harms low-income
Americans who will see
their taxes increase overtime.
The President’s tax bill ac-
tually harms American cities
by eliminating critical funding
generated by state and local tax
deductions which funds infra-
structure projects, and ensures
that citizens from a range of
socio-economic backgrounds
have access to the best possible
educational opportunities. We
cannot see how the President’s
plan will deliver on his prom-
ise.
On the campaign trail, and in
President Trump’s State of the
Union address, he claimed that
he will improve our nation’s
crumbling infrastructure. But,
his budget proposal slashes in-
frastructure programs that are
crucial to the continued vitality
of our cities.
These infrastructure cuts in-
clude eliminating the Highway
Trust Fund, and the Low-In-
come Home Energy Assistance
Program (LIHEAP), which
serves as a lifeline for nearly
seven million families in com-
munities struggling to pay for
basic energy needs.
Finally, the President main-
tained his rebuke of hardwork-
ing immigrants by citing crim-
inals and gang members as the
justification for his shameful
immigration policy. Nearly 44
million immigrants currently
reside in the U.S., over 20 mil-
lion of whom are naturalized
citizens.
Thirty six percent of U.S.-
born children of immigrants
are college graduates - five
percent higher than the nation-
al average - and sixty four per-
cent are homeowners, which is
on-par with the national aver-
age. Immigrants are our neigh-
bors, colleagues and friends.
They are productive mem-
bers of our society struggling
to thrive in a system stacked
against them. It is un-American
to attack them. And, that’s why
we are committed to protecting
them when and how we can.
We look forward to working
with the President on these and
a host of other issues that are
important to the sustainability
of our cities, and the prosperity
of our constituents.
Toni Hart is the mayor of
New Haven, Conn., and the
president of the African Amer-
ican Mayors Association on
behave of 500 black mayors
across the country.