Impact of The LAN
Impact of The LAN
LAN members reflect on the transformative impact of the KC Health Equity LAN, emphasizing the importance of community inclusion, addressing systemic challenges, and fostering awareness of health equity. By sharing perspectives and confronting biases, members are inspired to create meaningful, sustainable solutions to improve health outcomes.
Health Forward Foundation: Qiana Thomason
Qiana Thomason, President & CEO of Health Forward Foundation, highlights the power of systemic change in addressing structural racism and health inequities. She emphasizes building capacity, shared understanding, and accountability to drive racial equity in health outcomes. Watch to learn how equity can shape better futures.
KC CARE Health Center: Patient Journey Map
Bob Golen of KC CARE Health Center shares how his team integrates health equity into quality improvement (QI) metrics by analyzing data through race, ethnicity, age, and language. This approach identifies care gaps, prioritizes patient voices, and shapes organizational strategies to improve health outcomes.
KC Health Collaborative: Dan Cranshaw
Dan Cranshaw, executive director of KC Health Collaborative, discusses the importance of addressing individual biases and organizational systems that contribute to health disparities. He emphasizes capacity building, tools, and resources to support racial equity and long-term systemic change. Watch to explore actionable steps toward health equity.
KC CARE Health Center: REL Data Collaboration and Capacity
Dan Cranshaw, executive director of KC Health Collaborative, and Wil Franklin of KC CARE Health Center emphasize the importance of collecting and analyzing race, ethnicity, and language (REL) data to advance health equity. Through surveys and collaboration, they aim to identify disparities, foster transparency, and use shared data to drive meaningful progress. The KC Health Equity LAN provides a credible, safe space to address uncomfortable truths and inspire change.
First Call: Connecting Through Community Capacity
Melissa Gard from First Call highlights the importance of addressing barriers to behavioral health care access in Kansas City, such as transportation and historical inequities like redlining. By partnering with nonprofits, the group focuses on meeting clients where they are to ensure equitable and accessible services.
Swope Health: Impacting Food Insecurity: Moving Beyond The Data
Mark Miller of Swope Health shares how the KC Health Equity LAN supports efforts to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health. By collecting and stratifying data, the initiative identifies links between food deserts and diabetes, promotes education, and improves access to affordable, nutritious food in underserved communities.
University of Kansas Health System: Primary Care Health Action Plan
Guadalupe Tredway of the University of Kansas Health System highlights efforts to embed community health workers into primary care to address barriers like transportation, housing, and language. By connecting patients to vital resources and improving communication in multilingual, multicultural communities, the initiative aims to achieve better health outcomes while gathering data to demonstrate its impact.
El Centro, Inc.: ¡Ni Uno Mas (Not One More)
Justin Gust of El Centro, Inc. discusses Ni Uno Más! (Not One More), an advocacy campaign addressing health equity and access to cancer treatment for uninsured and undocumented individuals. Focused on systemic policy change, the initiative supports the Latino community by tackling barriers to timely, equitable care.
Mission Vision Project: Physician Pipeline Project
Michael and Jamila Weaver of Mission Vision Project (MVP) share their initiative to increase underrepresented minorities in the physician pipeline. By working with high school students and analyzing the local ecosystem, MVP aims to improve workforce diversity, cultural concordance, and health outcomes across Kansas City.
St. Luke’s: Improving Health Equity for African American Patients with Disabilities
Marsha Weaver, MD, of St. Luke’s, shares how the KC Health Equity LAN has strengthened their infrastructure for advancing health equity. Through focused projects like diabetes care and broader systemic initiatives, the LAN provides structure, coaching, and collaboration to propel meaningful change across the health system.
University Health: Utilization of eGFR Equation That Does Not Incorporate Race
Frank Gray of University Health discusses efforts to improve equity in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) testing, a key measure of kidney function. By eliminating the race-based coefficient historically used in eGFR, the project ensures equitable chronic kidney disease diagnoses. It also raises awareness of risk factors and provides resources to promote fair, patient-centered care.
Uzazi Village: Community Expert Review Board
Cecilia Saffold of HealthTeamWorks discusses the Community Expert Review Board (CERB), an initiative by Uzazi Village that connects researchers with community members to address inequities in research design and care delivery. By transitioning from a volunteer model to a subscription-based system, CERB aims to increase diverse participation, improve outcomes, and promote equitable health care citywide.
ReDiscover Mental Health: It’s Not About Us, Without Us: An Examination of Barriers to Behavioral Health
Michael DePriest and Vanessa Hickman of ReDiscover Mental Health discuss Mental Health Sundays, an initiative bringing mental health education to African-American churches every third Sunday. The program fosters awareness, encourages open dialogue, and empowers communities to recognize mental health needs, promoting equitable access to care for all.
Newhouse: Shattering the Barriers that Feed the Cycle of Abuse by Creating Access, Equity + Efficiencies in the Social Services System
Courtney Thomas of Newhouse discusses their community activation project, which aims to revolutionize social service delivery. By creating a campus model that co-locates services like mental health care and job training, the initiative addresses systemic barriers, reduces re-traumatization, and fosters healing and thriving for domestic violence survivors in Kansas City.
“Health equity isn’t part of what we do. Health equity IS the work.”