Health Equity Update – Complete the 2022 Racial Equity in Healthcare Progress Report by Sept. 30

August 8, 2022

Memorandum

As part of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association’s (IHA) ongoing commitment to assist members’ efforts to address racial health disparities, IHA launched our 2022 Racial Equity in Healthcare Progress Report (Progress Report) that should be completed on an annual basis to measure and track progress. Nearly 140 hospitals participated last year and we hope to grow that number in 2023. Below, you will find hyperlinks to the Progress Report Survey and helpful supplemental material.

IHA urges every Illinois hospital to submit the Progress Report survey by Sept. 30. Hospitals will receive an analytic report of your results that will serve as a compass to action for your organization. IHA members who engage in the Progress Report will receive access to learning opportunities and resources (e.g., collaboratives, playbooks, best practices) intended to support the pursuit of your equity goals.

The Progress Report is a long-term accountability tool to document progress toward achieving racial health equity. It aims to highlight the important progress that organizations have already made, as well as the work ahead, and is meant to promote collective improvement, not to drive competition.

Completing the Progress Report provides for a baseline self-assessment and then an opportunity to measure progress, assess implementation of key strategies, understand provider and community assets in racial equity work, and identify areas of improvement. IHA will not share individual hospital data submitted for the Progress Report with anyone outside of the submitting organization, without its permission.

  • The Progress Report Survey: To complete the survey, you must submit your answers through the Progress Report Survey online platform. Please note that you can save your responses in the survey at any time and return at a later date to complete the survey or edit responses. To go back to saved responses, you must utilize the same device and same web browser used to start the survey.
  • Guidance Document: To support you while completing the survey and pursuing your health equity strategy, this guidance document provides background information on the Progress Report, analytics to be provided based on your Progress Report survey, resources to guide future work, and definitions to ground everyone in similar terminology. Please read through the guidance document before completing the survey.
  • Progress Report PDF: We recommend that you use the pdf document to draft and compile your answers with your team. This will make it easier to then input your final data into the online Progress Report Survey portal.

If you have questions or need support while completing the Progress Report, please contact healthequity@team-iha.org.

To help your organization determine your health equity goals and create an implementation plan to achieve those goals, IHA has also organized two Progress Report Improvement Action Network (IAN) Learning Collaboratives. IHA recommends that at least two individuals from your organization attend these sessions, preferably your organization's equity/diversity lead and an implementation partner.  

The first cohort concluded last week, and the next interactive IAN sessions consisting of eight-week sessions will take place between Sept. 15 and Nov. 10. The upcoming four part IAN is scheduled for the following dates/times:

Session 1: Thursday, Sept. 15, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Session 2: Thursday, Oct. 6, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Session 3: Thursday, Oct. 27, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Session 4: Thursday, Nov. 10, 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Hospitals participating in the upcoming Learning Collaborative should submit the Progress Report by Sept. 1 to receive analytics prior to the first session.

By engaging in these IAN sessions, you will be given the tools and guidance to have at least one Racial Equity Charter in place by the close of the IAN on Nov. 10. The Racial Equity Charter (‘Equity Charter’) will serve as your organizational roadmap of the change your team will put in place in 2022 and will be the main deliverable of the IAN. IHA looks forward to sharing upcoming advocacy opportunities for hospitals to share their Equity Charters statewide so that hospitals’ innovative and impactful work on health equity is recognizable to legislators, patients and communities.

To join these Progress Report IAN Learning Collaborative sessions, please register at our Progress Report Learning Collaborative page.

IHA will follow-up directly with more details regarding the Learning Collaborative closer to the kick-off date. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions to healthequity@team-iha.org.

IHA thanks you and your organization for the continued effort and engagement with the Racial Equity in Healthcare Progress Report. Contact us with any questions.