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One of the primary goals of the Disparities Solutions Center is to provide education and leadership training to develop a national network of skilled individuals dedicated to eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in health care. Through the Disparities Leadership Program we hope to move this from a goal to a reality.
----Joseph R. Betancourt, MD, MPH
Director, The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital |
Download a PDF version of this document here.
The Institute of Medicine Reports Crossing the Quality Chasm and Unequal Treatment highlight the critical nexus between improving quality and eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in health care. Combined, they provide a blueprint for addressing disparities that can only be achieved if a concerted, coordinated effort towards health systems change can be achieved. This will require leaders in quality improvement who have the tools and skills to move their organizations forward toward the elimination of racial/ethnic disparities in care.
The Disparities Leadership Program (DLP) is a year-long executive education program designed for leaders from hospitals, health plans and other health care organizations who want to a. develop a strategic plan (A strategic plan can range anywhere from a 5-10 page summary on how learnings from the DLP can be applied o address disparities at an organization to a more detailed blue-print for action. This is left up to the participants' discretion.) or b. advance a project to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care, particularly through quality improvement. The DLP has two overarching goals:
- To create a cadre of leaders in health care equipped with a) in-depth knowledge of the field of disparities, including root causes and research to date; b) cutting-edge quality improvement strategies for identifying and addressing disparities; and c) the leadership skills to implement these strategies and help transform their organizations.
- To help individuals from organizations—who may be at the beginning stages or in the middle of developing or implementing an strategic plan or project to address disparities—further advance or improve their work in a customized, tailored fashion.
The DLP faculty will consist of a team of leaders who are action-oriented and have practical experience implementing organizational and quality improvement strategies aimed at eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care. It will focus particularly on the lessons learned and expertise gained from the development and evolution of programs currently in place at the Massachusetts General Hospital (www.mghdisparities.org), as well as at several leading health plans across the country. The DLP will be led by national experts from The Disparities Solutions Center (DSC) at Massachusetts General Hospital
(www.mghdisparitiessolutions.org).
This program is jointly sponsored by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). It is supported by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), an affiliate of the Joint Commission.
The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is dedicated to developing and implementing strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care through innovative policy and practice. Created and led by Dr. Joseph Betancourt, the DSC is made up of a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals with expertise in the area of racial/ethnic data collection, performance measurement and reporting, disparities interventions, and evaluation. The DSC strives to:
- Serve as a change agent by developing new research and translating innovative research findings into policy and practice
- Develop and evaluate customized policy and practice solutions for health care providers, insurers, educators, community organizations and other stakeholders
- Provide education and leadership training to expand the community of skilled individuals dedicated to eliminating health care disparities
The DSC has significant, practical, real-world experience in the area of addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health care. For example, the leadership of the DSC has worked with several leading health plans across the country (Aetna, Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Florida, among others) to develop strategies to identify and eliminate disparities. In addition, DSC faculty have staffed the Massachusetts General Hospital Committee on Racial and Ethnic Disparities, pioneering activities such as the Disparities  Dashboard, an innovative way to identify and monitor disparities, as well as the development of a culturally competent diabetes disease management program. This experience, along with the active role the DSC faculty have played in the now well-recognized effort among Boston hospitals to eliminate disparities under the leadership of Mayor Menino, uniquely positions them to provide training to those interested in addressing disparities through quality improvement. |
The DLP is designed for leaders from hospitals, health plans, physician organizations, community health centers, and other health care organizations who want to implement strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Participants may include, but are not limited to: executive leadership, medical directors, directors of quality, and directors of multicultural affairs or community benefits. To maximize the benefits of the year-long DLP, participants should have strong commitment from their organization, as well as resources available, to advance an action plan to address disparities. Teams of two participants per organization are encouraged, though not required.
- The Institute of Medicine's landmark report Crossing the Quality Chasm highlighted equity as one of the essential pillars of health care quality. For an organization to improve quality for all patients it must be able to measure disparities by race/ethnicity and develop interventions to address them.
- The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) are beginning to incorporate issues of race, culture, and language into their standards for hospitals and health plans. The DLP will help health care leaders put their organizations ahead of the curve on this important emerging issue.
- Eliminating disparities in health care requires leadership, vision, teamwork, and an understanding of the issues and potential intervention strategies. The DLP is designed to build participants' knowledge and skills in these essential areas while developing a network of leaders focused on the same goals.
- Between now and the year 2050, racial/ethnic minorities will account for 90% of the projected increase in the U.S. population. Thus, most new growth in the health care market will come from minorities. Addressing racial/ethnic disparities in care with help health care organizations gain a competitive edge in a changing market.
The DLP has four major activities:
- Formal Skills Curriculum
The DLP will begin with a two-day intensive training session focused on defining disparities and root causes; developing cutting-edge quality improvement strategies to identify and address disparities; and fostering leadership skills to implement these strategies and help transform their organizations. Faculty will include national experts at the DSC, leadership from the MGH, and leadership from health plans across the country who are at the cutting-edge of the disparities field. Some of the topics covered during the training include:
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: Background on the issue of racial and ethnic disparities in health care including a review of root causes and strategies to address them
- Getting Disparities on the Leadership Agenda: Building the will among leaders in the organization to become invested in identifying and addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health care, including through the presentation of the business and quality case for addressing this issue
- Where to Begin: Tools and activities to help organizations get started with efforts to identify and address disparities, including the strategies, techniques and technology for collecting race/ethnicity data.
- Creating Disparities Measures and Reporting Mechanisms: Guidance on how to stratify quality measures by race/ethnicity, and report them appropriately via dashboards, scorecards, or other standard or innovative mechanisms
- Adding the Community, Patient, and Staff Voice to the Disparities Agenda: Strategies for bringing in key perspectives to disparities and patient safety work, including those of the community, the patient, and the health care staff
- Developing Disparities Interventions: Developing and implementing innovative approaches to address disparities organizationally and through quality improvement
- Making Systems Responsive to the Needs of Diverse Populations: Review of tools to improve the cultural competency of the health care delivery system and capacity to address the needs of patients with limited-English
- Communicating Broadly and Clearly: Developing an approach to communicating the issue of disparities both internally (board, leadership, staff, etc.) and externally (to the public).
- Assuring Sustainability: How to assure pilot programs become standard practice within the organization and how to disseminate successes broadly
2. Disparities Strategic Plan/Project
 The DLP is seeking to stimulate and promote
the development of strategic plans or the advancement of a component of a project designed specifically to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care within health care organizations. As a condition of entry, participants in the DLP must either:
- Develop a strategic plan to address disparities over the course of a year. They should use learnings from the DLP to develop a blue print to address disparities in the near future. This can be a more simple, basic, conceptual strategic plan (approximately 10 pages), or a more detailed, traditional strategic plan.
- Or advance a component of a project that addresses disparities. By advance a component of a project, we mean moving one step forward on a project that is already underway, or taking the first step on a new project. We understand it is difficult to complete an entire project over the course of one year. Examples of the types of projects considered include:
- Implementing a system to collect patient's race/ethnicity and language data
- Stratifying and reporting quality data by race/ethnicity
- Developing a culturally competent disease management program
- Evaluating a disparities intervention
- Expanding disparities interventions across conditions and populations
In either case, applicants must propse the ways in which they would like to advance this work over the course of the year through participation in the DLP. Again, participants can be in various stages of development in their program, ranging from developing a strategic plan to evaluating disparities
interventions.
3. Technical Assistance
The DSC will work with DLP participants to achieve their disparities project goals through various modalities of technical assistance, including three interactive conference calls for the entire group, and two interactive web seminars on additional learning topics tailored to the most pressing needs of participants. Participants will also be invited to participate in other DSC activities on an on-going basis (such as teleconferences on current disparities issues, additional web seminars, etc.) as part of the DLP network.
4. Closing Session, Group Learning and Dissemination
The DLP will continue with a two-day closing meeting where participants will present their work and lessons learned and individual strategic plans or projects. They will also have the opportunity to network with and learn from like-minded peers at this time and over the course of the year. DLP participants will receive continuing education credits, as well as a certificate for completing the program. All DLP projects will be highlighted on the DSC website (www.mghdisparitiessolutions.org). Some may be featured in web seminars and case studies published and distributed by the DSC. Three projects will be chosen to receive an award for innovation and success and will be featured in press releases about the DLP. A selection of projects may have the opportunity to present their work at national meetings on quality including Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s National Forum on Health Care Quality (www.IHI.org).
At the conclusion of this program, the learner will be able to:
1. Identify ways to secure buy in by having health care leaders better understand the issues of disparities and become invested in doing something to address them.
2. List techniques and technology for race and ethnicity data collection and disparities performance measurement.
3. Identify interventions to reduce disparities in health care.
4. Identify ways to message the issue of disparities both internally and externally.
5. Describe a concrete step that their organization will take toward the elimination of racial/ethnic disparities in care.
While we anticipate being able to accommodate most applicants to the DLP, we are limiting the program to 40 individual applicants per year (approximately 15-20 organizations). In order to ensure the success of the program we will review applications based on the following criteria:
- Level of organizational commitment to the applicants' efforts as measured by
- Letter of support signed by a member of senior leadership or board of the applicant’s organization authorizing release time to commit to the DLP and support for tuition and travel expenses (templates will be provided)
- Resources available (time and financial) to start or advance the applicants' efforts
- Commitment and ability of applicant/team to address racial/ethnic disparities at their organizations as described in the short essay responses
- Professional position and capacity of the applicant/team to move their organizations forward towards identifying and eliminating racial/ethnic disparities
Note: Preference will be given to organizations that can send at least a two-person team (individuals are still encouraged to apply).
We encourage interested parties to submit an Intent to Apply Form prior to submitting a complete application.
| March 14, 2008 |
DLP Application due |
| April 15 , 2008 |
DLP Applicants are notified |
| May 15, 2008 |
Tuition is due |
| May 29-30, 2008 |
Two day opening meeting in Boston, MA, at Hotel @ MIT (www.hotelatmit.com) |
| February, 2009 |
Two day meeting - date and West coast location to be determined |
Tuition is due upon acceptance as a member of the Disparities Leadership Program and is $9,500 per person. After organizations are notified of their acceptance into the program, the tuition is due on May 15, 2008. This covers all program activities (two two-day training sessions—one in Boston, MA, the other location TBD; conference calls, web seminars, and program materials) as well two night hotel stays and meals at the opening and closing session. Participants are responsible for all travel costs to and from the sessions.
Full and partial scholarships may be available for individuals and teams. If you are interested in receiving a scholarship, please attach a brief letter to your completed application, explaining your need for financial assistance and the amount requested.
Physicians
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and The Disparities Solutions Center. NCQA is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
NCQA designates this educational activity for a maximum of 15.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nurses
NCQA is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
This activity is approved for 15 nursing education contact hours.
To successfully complete this activity and receive CME or CNE credit, you must:
- sign the participant roster,
- remain for the entire program, and
- complete and submit a program evaluation.
A certificate of completion specifying applicable credits will be available for each participant after the program.
The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) considers all applicants and program participants without regard to race, color, national origin, age, religious creed, sex or sexual orientation. MGH is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage participation by all individuals. If you need any of the auxiliary aids or services identified in the Americans with Disabilities Act, please describe your particular needs in writing and include it with this application.
Please submit any cancellation or withdrawal in writing. Cancellation notices received after April 15, 2008 but before May 15, 2008, we will charge a 25% processing fee. Cancellations made after May 15, 2008 will not be refunded their tuition.
Please browse our website for information on other Disparities Solutions Center activities.
Or contact
Aswita Tan-McGrory, MSPH
Operations Manager of The Disparities Solutions Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
50 Staniford Street, 9th Floor, Suite 901
Boston, MA 02114
Email: atanmcgrory@partners.org
Phone: (617) 643-2916
Fax: (617) 726-4120
Disparities Solutions Center Faculty:
Joseph R. Betancourt, MD, MPH
Director, The Disparities Solutions Center
Senior Scientist, MGH Institute for Health Policy
Faculty, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Betancourt’s interests include cross-cultural medicine, minority recruitment into the health professions, and minority health and health policy research. He has served as principal investigator on grants from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Commonwealth Fund, and on several Institute of Medicine committees, including those that produced Unequal Treatment and Guidance for a National Health Care Disparities Report. He co-chairs the MGH Committee on Racial and Ethnic Disparities, has served on the Massachusetts State Disparities Committee and co-chaired the Boston Public Health Commission's Disparities Subcommittee on Quality Improvement.
Alexander R. Green, MD, MPH
Senior Faculty, The Disparities Solutions Center
Senior Scientist, MGH Institute for Health Policy
Faculty, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Green’s work centers on culturally competent approaches to quality improvement, clinician biases as root causes of racial and ethnic disparities in health care, and cultural competence. He has served on expert panels and advisory boards including the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations’ Hospitals, Language, and Culture project, and he co-chairs the Cross Cultural Care Committee at Harvard Medical School.
Roderick K. King, MD, MPH
Senior Faculty, The Disparities Solutions Center
Faculty, Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. King’s academic and consulting activities focus on leadership and organizational development in community-based organizations, social entrepreneurship to promote change, health workforce planning, diversity and cultural competence, and social determinants of health disparities. He has considerable federal experience, most recently as Director of the Health Resources and Services Administration and as a Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service. He is an Instructor in the Department of Social Medicine and works in the Office of Diversity and Community Partnerships at Harvard Medical School.
Additional Faculty:
Below is the list of additional faculty for the inaugural 2007-2008 class. A final faculty list for the 2008-2009 class has yet to be finalized.
Peter Slavin, MD, President of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)
Troy Brennan, MD, Chief Medical Director of Aetna, Inc.
David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, Director of Institute for Health Policy, Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine and Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School
John Auerbach, MBA, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission
Nancy Connery, MS, Director of Admitting and Registration Services at MGH
Kathy Campbell, Senior Product Manager, Consumer Directed Health Plans at Aetna, Inc.
Katherine Flaherty, ScD, Director, Health Access and Community Partnerships at Partners Healthcare System
Gregg Meyer, MD, Senior Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety, MGH
Elizabeth Mort, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Vice President of MGH
Joel Weissman, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Institute for Health Policy at MGH
Amy Giuliano, Team Leader for Data Analysis and Reporting at MGH
Cy Hopkins, MD, Director, Office of Quality and Patient Safety at MGH
Karen Donelan, PhD, Senior Scientist, Institute for Health Policy, MGH
Nakela Cook, MD, MPH, Clinical Research Fellow and Co-Coordinator of the MGH Multicultural Advisory Committee
Angelleen Peters-Lewis, RN, PhD, Director of Women's and Newborn's Nursing and Clinical Services, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Thomas Lampone, MD , Corporate Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida
Elizabeth Lowy, RN, BSN, Quality Management Manager, Health Care Equality, National Quality Management at Aetna, Inc.
Gretchen Nash, MA, Cultural Competency Provider Manager at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Lourdes Sanchez, MS, Manager of Interpreter Services at MGH
Lee Chelminiak, Communications Manager at Partners Community Benefits Program at Partners HealthCare
Suzanne Kim, Senior Public Affairs Officer at MGH
Joan Quinlan, MPA, Director of Community Benefits at MGH
Allison Rimm, MS, Vice President of Strategic Planning and Information Management at MGH
Deborah Washington, RN, PhDc, Director, Diversity, Patient Care Services at MGH
Digna Gerena, Program Manager, Community Relations/Diversity Initiatives, MGH Training and Workforce Development
Disparities Solutions Center staff:
Aswita Tan-McGrory, MSPH - Operations Manager - Prior to joining the Center, Aswita was the Women's Health Program Coordinator at the Office for Women, Family and Community Programs at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Before joining Brigham and Women's Hospital, she worked with homeless elders, and in HIV prevention as an HIV testing counselor. She received her Masters of Science in Public Health with a concentration in parasitology after she spent 2 years in rural Nigeria, West Africa, on water sanitation and Guinea Worm Eradication projects with the Peace Corps. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University in biology and art history.
Elizabeth Donahue - Program Associate - Elizabeth joined the Center after completing a Bachelor of Arts degree with dual concentrations in history and communications at Boston College. As an undergraduate research assistant, Elizabeth worked on projects that studied the effects of interpersonal control tactics on mental health outcomes and nonverbal communication behaviors in conversations about physical and mental health. She has completed internships in grant and public policy research with the Office of Congressman Barney Frank and in human resources with WCVB-TV. Elizabeth has also been involved in several volunteer programs, most recently with Amor Ministries in Tijuana, Mexico.
Wanda Vega - Program Assistant - Wanda recently completed four years with the Clinical Care Management Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital, which provides the infrastructure necessary for MGH to analyze and improve the quality and efficiency of its clinical services. She transferred to the Clinical Care Management Unit from the Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology's (CIMIT), where she coordinated The Forum, a vital tool used to create collaborations for patient benefit. Prior to working at MGH, Wanda completed ten years of government service with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Jessie Kimbrough-Sugick, MD, MPH - Aetna/DSC Healthcare Disparities Fellow - Dr. Kimbrough-Sugick recently completed an MPH program in Health Management and Policy at Harvard School of Public Health. Before obtaining her MPH, she spent two years at Henry Ford Health Systems, where she practiced as a primary care physician. She has lectured for faith-based collaboratives designed to empower racial and ethnic minorities through health education, as well as community service activities that focus on mentoring disadvantaged children and introducing them to the health care profession. She attended Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed her medical training in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.
Click here to view testimonials about The Disparities Leadership Program from panelists and participants.
All interested applicants are encouraged to browse our website to learn more about The Disparities Solutions Center.
Complete applications must be submitted by email. Signature pages can be faxed to us, or scanned in and sent to us by email. Applications are due by March 14, 2008. Please send your applications to:
Aswita Tan-McGrory – Operations Manager
The Disparities Solutions Center – MGH Institute for Health Policy
50 Staniford Street, 9th Floor, Suite 901
Boston, MA 02114
Email: atanmcgrory@partners.org
Phone: (617) 643-2916
Fax: (617) 726-4120
Download an intent to apply form.
Download an application.
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