National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month is just around the Corner....

National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month is observed every April to bring attention to the health inequalities that persist among racial and ethnic minority populations and the ways in which programs can help advance health equity. This year the theme for the month-long observance is “Partnering for Health Equity.”

Health Equity exists when every person has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, there are vast differences in the number of disease incidence, prevalence and mortality between specific population groups in our country.

Thankfully, there are organizations like the REACH healthcare foundation that are working hard to reduce the gap of health disparities among the poor and underserved people in our communities. Join with organizations that promote health equity and educate the disenfranchised individuals in your service area about Home Health Care & Hospice care. The lack of understanding of health care systems, language and cultural barriers, combined with trust issues prevent some consumers from seeking care.

Ideas to promote health equity in your community:

• Build your agency’s library of Spanish-language educational materials and expand Health Literacy in your community. Share your customized brochures with local practitioners that serve large Hispanic populations.

• Get involved in Kidney Sundays, an effort of the National Kidney Disease Education Program, to educate the African American community about kidney disease. The African American population has higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure which are the two leading causes of kidney disease. Distribute agency flyers to your faith community. Be the one to raise awareness about the risks of kidney disease and the importance of getting tested.

• Demonstrate your agency’s inclusiveness by gathering testimonials from past minority patients and their families that you have assisted. Incorporate their suggestions on how Home Health and Hospice care can be more effective into your marketing plan.  

• Provide educational materials to your local community centers and initiate discussions during senior events on good health practices such as fall prevention.

• Partner with organizations that promote health equity events in your area, such as: National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities (NPA), Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH), and Common Health Action.

• Participate in discussions with community leaders to create a shared vision on how to combat health inequity and foster multi-sector collaborations. Healthier communities mean lower health care costs, which translate into a stronger and more productive, competitive society.

For more educational materials you can share with your referral sources, check out our webstore: www.partnerwithtag.com

March 2015: Outreach, outreach, outreach

April is an incredibly important month in health care. There are tons of observances you can leverage to bolster your marketing plans, but we’re going to focus on three this time.

April is National Minority Health Month. It’s a great time to increase your efforts to reach your community’s racial and ethnic minority populations. Study after study shows that these groups have more difficulty accessing health care for a number of reasons. In addition, some minority groups are at greater risk of developing certain diseases. This month, focus on your community’s Hispanic population. Although many Hispanics speak English fluently, many others are more comfortable receiving information in Spanish.

• Drop by the offices of physicians and clinics that serve your community’s Latino population. Leave behind disease-specific brochures in Spanish that focus on how home health can help. Find a selection of ready-made brochures that include topics such as diabetes, heart disease, CHF, COPD and pneumonia – all in Spanish – at www.tagwebstore.com/brochure.php.
• Zone Flyers are great tools to help patients with various illnesses know when their symptoms warrant a call to their home health nurse or to 911. This line of Spanish zone flyers will give Spanish-speaking patients an easy guide that can help them improve their health. Hand them out to your own Spanish-speaking patients, and leave some for the hospital discharge planners in your area. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/zone-flyer.php.
• Put your agency’s name in the hands of every prospective client while giving them a tool that will help them improve the health care they receive and their relationships with their doctors. Distribute our popular My Health Logs (now in Spanish) at the offices of your local primary care physicians or other doctors who see a large number of Hispanic seniors in your community. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/healthlog.php.

National Public Health Week is April 6-April 12. It’s a great time to promote your agency while also working to improve the overall health of your community.

• Participate in community health fairs this month. Be sure to have stacks of disease-specific flyers on hand to distribute to attendees. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php.
• Make sure the physicians in your service area know the rules when it comes to referring to home care by giving them a handy pocket guide to Medicare. Help them learn what’s appropriate and improve your community’s overall health in the process. Get it at www.tagwebstore.com/pocket-guide-to-medicare.php.
• Give patients and potential patients a powerful tool to help track and improve their personal health. Health log books and patient scorecard logs personalized to your agency not only empower them to take better care of themselves, but they help physicians get the information they need, and also serve as a constant reminder of your agency and its services. Get them at www.tagwebstore.com/healthlog.php and www.tagwebstore.com/patient-scorecard-logs.php.

Finally, April is National Cancer Control Month. More than 1.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year, and about 12.5 million Americans have been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. About 500,000 people die from the disease each year.

• Volunteer to teach a community-based education class on disease management at a local support group meeting. Find a done-for-you class at www.TAGwebstore.com/startupkit-products.php.
• Contact the local office of the American Cancer Society and offer to organize a bake sale, sidewalk sale or other charity event to benefit the organization. Be sure to have plenty of informative materials available that educate about cancer. Find personalized brochures about home health and breast cancer or home health and cancer at www.tagwebstore.com/brochure.php. Personalized agency flyers about cancer are available at www.tagwebstore.com/health-care-flyers.php.
• Visit the offices of local oncologists and discuss the ways your cancer services can benefit their patients. Include a cancer treatment-specific Patient Education Guide in your materials to demonstrate your agency’s commitment to comprehensive patient education and improved outcomes. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/patient-education-guides.php. Leave behind a stack of personalized pain and symptom logs the doctor can distribute to cancer patients. The logs will ensure proper symptom tracking and better communication at the patient’s future doctor visits. Find them at www.tagwebstore.com/painsymptomlog.php.