The MHA announced the winner of its 2021 Advancing Safe Care Award June 24, honoring a dedicated team at Bronson Healthcare, Kalamazoo, for creating and supporting Bronson’s Community Partnered Vaccine Clinics and Health Equity project. The award was announced during the association’s virtual Annual Membership Meeting.
The MHA Advancing Safe Care Award honors healthcare teams within MHA-member hospitals that demonstrate a fierce commitment to providing care to different patient populations, show evidence of an improved safety culture, lead the charge for quality improvement, and demonstrate transparency in their efforts to improve healthcare.
Bronson Healthcare ensures people are quickly and effectively vaccinated against COVID-19 and is addressing social determinants of health during the vaccination process. Bronson based its stance for equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine on data showing people from racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected by the disease. That mindset brought about significant community partnerships, formed the Community Partnered Vaccine Clinics, and enhanced the delivery of vaccines to underserved community populations.
The outreach program also led to the development of the Bronson COVID-19 Exploration Dashboard and a data infrastructure to proactively monitor for gaps and address structural racism. This data continues to help Bronson support equitable care in its community through a geographical lens.
Bronson’s vaccine deployment strategy is population- and place-based. By focusing on people with disabilities and those of racial and ethnic minorities, it created vaccine clinics that are accessible to the most vulnerable and proactively reduce COVID-19-associated stigma and implicit bias. The Community Partnered Vaccine Clinics led to 1,250 vaccine administrations over four clinic events, 50% of them to people in racial and ethnic minorities, and the number continues to rise as more community clinic events are organized weekly. Previously, Bronson was vaccinating 5% of minority populations.
For more information on Bronson’s Community Partnered Vaccine Clinics and Health Equity, contact Sarah Jasinski, system manager patient safety, at Bronson Healthcare at (269) 341-6506.