Community health initiatives reach individuals beyond our hospital walls, including those without insurance and those with chronic conditions that must be managed. Below are some of our programs in 2019 and 2020.
Center for Health Equity In 2019, Wellstar launched our Center for Health Equity in response to needs revealed by our triennial Community Health Needs Assessment process. The Center will provide oversight for System-wide strategies, initiatives and programs that are addressing health disparities that persist within six strategic domains:
Access to Primary Care
Behavioral Health
Cancer
Food Insecurity
Suicide
Women’s Health
Supporting Growing Families Wellstar is working to reduce the maternal mortality ratio in Georgia, especially among African-American women. Actions include reviewing and monitoring practices at all Wellstar hospitals. We support community education and services that reach more than 15,000 families each year. Wellstar also supports programs like Babies Born Healthy that provide subsidized prenatal services.
Wellstar Day of Service In 2019, we launched the Wellstar Day of Service. It was a rewarding opportunity for teammembers to engage in community service, while also connecting. Our team members served over 1,000 hours supporting healthy food access agencies.
Congregational Health Network This network leverages the strength of faith-based partnerships and serves as a bridge between our system and spiritual communities, supporting improvements in lifestyles and healthy habits. In 2019, we increased efforts to improve access to nutritious food. Outreach activities included community-based nursing through our Congregational Health Network, which supports more than 84 faith organizations.
Fighting Cancer In our constant fight against cancer, we enhanced community screening to ensure that follow-up care is continuous and well coordinated. In partnership with the Wellstar Foundation, Susan G. Komen Greater Atlanta, and It’s the Journey, we conduct free mammograms, with emphasis on underserved African- American and Hispanic women.
Community Safety-Net Clinics
Our community safety-net clinics provide medically underserved individuals with wellness exams, vaccinations and medication counseling. We also offer reduced-cost outpatient services in partnership with community- based clinics throughout our service area.
Food as Medicine Program We also continue to prioritize food access and chronic disease management with our Food as Medicine Program. Through a partnership with Open Hand Atlanta, this intervention provides participants with medically tailored meals and food boxes, along with modules on chronic disease management and healthy food preparation.
Medical Interpretation Services In 2019, Wellstar provided telephonic, video and onsite interpretation sessions. Documents were translated and offered in 20 different languages and braille. The increase in services and utilization displays Wellstar’s strong ability to effectively communicate with our Limited English Proficient patient population.
25 | 2019–2020 COMMUNITY REPORT
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