WEST ORANGE, NJ — The American Hospital Association recently unveiled a report outlining a menu of options for communities, hospitals and policymakers to ensure that vulnerable rural and urban communities have access to essential health care services. Barry H. Ostrowsky, President and CEO of RWJBarnabas Health, a member of the AHA Task Force for Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities, and a strong advocate for New Jersey’s vulnerable communities, participated in developing the report.
The Task Force was created by the AHA board of trustees in recognition of the challenges facing vulnerable rural and urban communities and the need for new integrated and comprehensive health care delivery and payment strategies. Ostrowsky and 28 other hospital and health system leaders and state hospital association CEOs across the nation conducted meetings and hearings with policymakers and hospital and community leaders during a 15-month period.
“Many hospitals face challenges maintaining access to health care services in their communities and this report provides a pathway to ensure every hospital has an opportunity to be an access point and an anchor of service,” AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said in a press release. “The strategies outlined in this report can serve as a roadmap for all communities as hospitals begin to redefine how they provide more integrated care.”
“At RWJBarnabas Health, we recognize that each of the communities we serve is richly diverse, comprised of individuals of all ages from a range of backgrounds, ethnicities and religions,” Ostrowsky said in the release. “By connecting with our communities, we have developed a deeper understanding of the issues and barriers causing health disparities on a local level. We understand that specific ethnic and racial groups are more prone to certain illnesses and diseases and that many encounter language, cultural and socioeconomic barriers, which may make it more challenging to access appropriate health care.”
RWJBarnabas Health has developed unique programs devoted specifically to the local communities. These programs enable care teams to provide culturally-competent care to improve health and wellness and reduce health disparities.
A wide range of highly-specialized programs for RWJBarnabas Health’s diverse populations includes programs for the Latino, African American, Russian, Asian, Orthodox and Hindu communities. In 2017, RWJBarnabas Health will provide details of a new “social impact and community investment practice” to help support people in more fragile communities, avert illness and make positive lifestyle choices.
The AHA Task Force report outlines nine emerging strategies that can help preserve access to health care services in vulnerable communities. The nine emerging strategies are: addressing the social determinants of health; global budgets; inpatient and outpatient transformation strategy; emergency medical center; urgent care center; virtual care strategies; frontier health system; rural hospital-health clinic strategy; and Indian health services strategies. The AHA will work with Congress and CMS to create new payment models to support the successful implementation of the strategies.
The report, with more detailed information on each strategy, case studies and a complete advocacy agenda and assistance strategy, is available at www.aha.org.
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