Eliminating health inequities: A regional approach

The mission of the Consumer Health Foundation (CHF) is to improve the health status of Washington, DC area communities - particularly the most vulnerable members of these communities - and to support the activities that enable people to be more actively involved in their own health. Within our mission, our work centers on reducing the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities that exist in accessing health care and health outcomes, and we envision ourselves at a catalyst for social change. Although grantmaking is our primary work, we feel we have a responsibility to raise our own voice on behalf of those whose voices are neither sought nor heard in the healthcare debate. So in 2004 and 2005, CHF invited community members to raise their voices and speak out about the conditions that threaten their health and well being, and more importantly, to propose creative solutions to address these problems. Based on what we heard, in September 2006, we released the report, Speaking Up and Speaking Out for Health, which offers six doable “Call-to-Action” recommendations that foundations, policymakers, and community leaders can implement. One of our recommendations is for policy makers to designate neighborhood Wellness Opportunity Zones where incentives are provided for innovative connections between and among all public and private policies, programs and practices affecting health and well-being, was included in DC Mayor Fenty's 100 day plan and is also a concept of interest in Prince George's County, a Washington, DC suburb.