Shelton-Derby Organizations Receive State Community Health Care Grants

SHELTON-DERBY, CT — Southwestern AHEC in Shelton and Griffin Hospital in Derby recently received grants from the Connecticut Health Foundation.

In a news release, the foundation said Southwestern AHEC will receive $25,000 to support the nonprofit organization in an effort to assure the state certification process for community health workers advances health equity and racial equity and minimizes barriers for those in the workforce.

Southwestern AHEC will work with community health workers to develop a roadmap and toolkit for the certification process and recertification requirements, according to the foundation.

The foundation also noted Griffin Hospital will receive $30,000 to host community engagement sessions to learn how people would like to be asked about their REL data, then use the feedback to inform changes to the way patients are asked for this and other demographic information.

Funding will also support staff education about the importance of REL data and the purchase of software and tablets to allow patients to self-report their data when they get care, according to the foundation.

Additionally, the foundation is awarding grants to seven hospital systems and community health centers in Connecticut that "will conduct community listening sessions, establish patient advisory boards, and undertake other activities designed to improve how they collect and analyze data on patients’ race, ethnicity, and preferred language."

According to the foundation, having accurate data on race, ethnicity, and language preference – known as REL data – is critical to identifying and addressing population-level gaps in care and outcomes. A state law passed in 2021 requires health care providers to collect this data from patients in a standardized way.

To help ensure this requirement is implemented effectively and the data is used to identify and address health inequities, the Connecticut Health Foundation convened a group of health care providers, state agencies, community organizations and others to work through issues related to data collection. The grantees are participants in this process, which is being facilitated by the Yale Equity Research and Innovation Center and the Yale Global Health Leadership Initiative.

While collecting data might sound simple, doing it effectively can require staff training to assure that health care workers understand why it's important to ask about race and ethnicity and how to do so, and making sure that patients understand why they’re being asked and feel comfortable providing the information, according to the foundation. Collecting the data can also require changes in electronic records systems and workflow.

"As health care providers begin asking about race, ethnicity and language preference on a more regular basis, it's important that patients are asked the questions in a way they will feel comfortable answering," Connecticut Health Foundation CEO Tiffany Donelson said in a news release. "It's critically important for community members to be part of informing how this data is collected and how it's used. We're thrilled that so many health care providers are committed to implementing this new requirement in a thoughtful way."