The Future of Health: Equity in All Services Cleveland Community Conversation

On August 26, 2021, CHC held a hybrid breakfast event, The Future of Health: Equity in All Services, online and in Cleveland, hosted by Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Watch the full recording.

Thank you to these speakers and panelists:

  • Teleange Thomas, Chief Advancement & Relationship Officer, JumpStart and CHC: Creating Healthier Communities Board Member, opened the event by welcoming attendees.
  • Kevin Clayton, vice president VP Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement, Cleveland Cavaliers Operating Company and CHC: Creating Healthier Communities Board Chair discussed the significance of this work and the importance of hearing the voices of the community. Clayton connected today’s event to the previous Future of Health convening in Cleveland in 2020 and how we’re moving forward together to advance health equity.
  • Valerie Rochester, Chief Health Equity Officer, CHC: Creating Healthier Communities shared that “health equity work is people work” and updated participants on CHC’s first health equity database with Anthem Foundation, ongoing events and other work. “It’s about equity for all people, across all services, providing equal, equitable opportunities to be healthier and to build healthier communities.”
  • Alan Nevel, Senior Vice President, Chief Diversity and Human Resources Officer, MetroHealth System and CHC: Creating Healthier Communities Board Member, shared MetroHealth’s commitment to health equity and introduced Dr. Boutros.
  • Akram Boutros, President and CEO, MetroHealth System discussed the health equity landscape and trends. Dr. Boutros discussed the importance of challenging norms and focusing on people. During the pandemic, when others cut employee pay and hours, MetroHealth gave employees raises. He encouraged attendees to be courageous for just causes and to take risks. He shared about the significant mental health impacts of the pandemic and how it will have a long-term impact on children who suffered through this in their formative years. He discussed the importance of relationships and getting at root causes, as socially isolated patients had more hospital admissions and emergency room visits. To address the social determinants of health will require relationships and connections. Dr. Boutros shared that health systems are the largest employers in the region and have the capacity to tackle issues and lead on prevention. He discussed MetroHealth’s partnerships with CHC and Unite Us.
  • Kevin Clayton facilitated the Q&A with Dr. Boutros and introduced the panel.
  • Jamie Carmichael, Chief Health Opportunity Advisor, Ohio Department of Health; Frances Mills, Health Commissioner, Cleveland Department of Public Health and Director, Cleveland Office of Minority Health; Nazleen Bharmal, Associate Chief of Community Health & Partnerships, Cleveland Clinic Community Care and Population Health; and Sheeba Ibidunni, Director, State and Local Government Sales, Unite Us spoke on the panel. A robust conversation followed regarding equity issues locally, nationally and globally, the importance of trust, relationships and listening for community partners, maternal health disparities for women of color, the need for upstream solutions and policy change to motivate healthcare systems to address issues, and community organizations’ need for funding.
  • Kevin Clayton facilitated a conversation with Ashraf (Ash) Shehata, Principal, KPMG and discussed the importance of companies and boards answering the urgent call to support communities in need and address health equity. Ash shared how Environmental, Social Governance (ESG) practices are encouraging companies to measure and make progress, changing board rooms and companies. Having a mission, vision and higher purpose can recruit and retain employees and engage young people. Ash mentioned the tough challenge nonprofits have demonstrating and measuring impact. Clayton shared how the Cavaliers have linked diversity, equity and inclusion priorities to bonuses for employees and how tying measurements to compensation can help move this critical work forward.
  • Thomas G. Bognanno, President & CEO, CHC: Creating Healthier Communities and Valerie Rochester closed the event, reinforcing the importance of this work and working together, plus reminding attendees about CHC’s mission to build the capacity of partners, providing financial resources and connections, as well as the Unite Ohio platform, upcoming events, and more.

This event is part of a series bringing business, nonprofit and community leaders together to advance equity and address the social determinants of health. Find out more about the last Cleveland convening, read about CHC’s latest health equity work plus sign up for upcoming events. To read the Twitter discussion and recap, you may view the #EquityinAllServices hashtag.