The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

5089.0: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 1:30 PM

Abstract #54764

Strengthening the Organization and Delivery of Healthcare to Urban Populations

Etienne J Phipps, PhD, Einstein Center for Urban Health Policy and Research, Thomas Jefferson University, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network-Germantown Community Health Services, 1 Penn Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19144, 215-951-8137, phippst@einstein.edu and Martin Goldsmith, Executive Office, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, 5501 Old York Road, Philadelphia, PA 19141.

The Center for Urban Health Policy and Research is an applied research center of Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, an integrated delivery system (IDS) and urban teaching hospital in Philadelphia, PA. The Center’s primary mission is to support and strengthen the organization and delivery of healthcare to urban populations and to address the multilevel systems’ issues that impede optimal health and healthcare. At the organizational level, we are interested in identifying the components of a high performance urban IDS and examining how those components compare across benchmark institutions. For example, what are the optimal strategies to recruit, retain, and train high quality physicians and other healthcare professionals to work in urban healthcare environments? At the community level, our collaborative research and demonstration projects with community organizations focus on a broad range of community health concerns, such as social environment, neighborhood safety, and health literacy. The impact of neighborhood environment on patients’ self management of chronic disease, and interventions to address the ‘digital divide’ are two important realities that impact current and future health of a community. Effective communication strategies to disseminate results ensures that research results are applied to clinical care, accessible to community partners, and important in developing a leadership position for the Center in urban healthcare. Examples from our work in these areas will be described.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Hospitals, Community-Based Health Care

Related Web page: einstein.edu/urbanhealth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Innovative Strategies to Address Urban Health

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA