Population Health & Health Equity

What Distinguishes Our Academic Medical Enterprise:

Location in our Nation’s Capital: The GW academic medical enterprise is strategically located in Washington, D.C., providing unparalleled opportunities to integrate leadership, policy, and advocacy into our education, research, and service activities.

woman walking with DC skyline and heart rate symbol

 

Goal 10: Build Initiatives

Identify and build clinical and research programs to improve population health and health equity for the communities served by the GW academic medical enterprise.

The GW academic medical enterprise will be a leader in population health sciences research and practice with a focus on improving access to healthcare services, eliminating disparities in health outcomes and achieving health equity.

Action 10.1

Establish the Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center Executive Steering Committee to inform the design and implementation of the clinical, educational, research, population health and community engagement initiatives at Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center.

Metric(s):

Establishment of Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center Executive Steering Committee by March 2023.
Timeline: 2023-25
Status: Completed: Committee established in February 2023 with 13 members representing GW SMHS, GW MFA, UHS, and GW Milken Institute School of Public Health.  Expanded to 17 members in Jan 2024 including representative from GW School of Nursing.
Action 10.2

Expand the footprint of our academic medical enterprise to include Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center (CHRMC) through the development of a new Family Medicine residency program based at CHRMC.

Metric(s):
  1. Establish Department of Family Medicine by 2025 with an appointed department chair and at least 10 faculty members.

     
  2. Establish Graduate Medical Education Strategic Planning Working Group for Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center by March 2024.

     
  3. Designate program director and program coordinator for Family Medicine residency by 2025.

     
  4. Apply for ACGME initial accreditation by 2026 and complete ACGME site visit.

     
  5. Recruit initial class with planned start date of 2027.

     
  6. Establish the Interprofessional Education Working Group to design interprofessional education and training programs for medical students, PA students, nursing students, etc. by March 2024. 

     
  7. Implement interprofessional clinical education and training for health professional students and trainees at Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center by 2026.
Timeline: 2023-26
Status:
  1. In progress: Planning underway in alignment with GW university and GW SMHS policies and procedures.

     
  2. Completed: Planning activities began Summer 2023. Working Group established in February 2024, led by Associate Dean for GME.

     
  3. Not Started.

     
  4. Not Started.

     
  5. Not Started.

     
  6. Completed: Working Group established February 2024, led by Chair, Department of PA Studies.  Members from GW SMHS MD program, PT/OT program, and GW School of Nursing.

     
  7. In progress: Work underway as part of Interprofessional Education Working Group.
Action 10.3

Conduct community health needs assessment (CHNA) for communities served by the GW academic medical enterprise and develop responsive population health research and health services research to address the need.

Metric(s):
  1. Identify community health needs by June 2023.

     
  2. Collaborate with community partners to prioritize community health needs and develop key initiatives by December 2023.

     
  3. Administer 4-6 pilot awards annually to early-career faculty to support population health, health services, and health equity research responsive to community needs assessment beginning in 2024.
Timeline: 2023-26
Status:
  1. Completed: GW SMHS Center for Population Health and Health Sciences (CPHSHE) staff identified community health needs for Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center leveraging city-wide community health needs assessments.

     
  2. Completed: CPHSHE validated community health needs with 30+ community partners and residents.

     
  3. In progress: Population Health and Health Services Research pilot award program designed.  Scheduled for launch in Spring 2024.
Action 10.4

Establish community-led population health, health services, and/or health equity research initiatives through partnerships with GW SMHS Center for Population Health Sciences and Health Equity and the GW SMHS Centers of Excellence in cancer, neuroscience, and cardiovascular health.

Metric(s):
  1. Identify health initiative in cancer by June 2024.

     
  2. Develop and implement health initiative in cancer by June 2025.

     
  3. Identify health initiative in neurological sciences by June 2025.

     
  4. Develop and implement health initiative in neurological sciences by June 2026.

     
  5. Identify health initiative in cardiovascular health by June 2025.

     
  6. Develop and implement by June 2026.
Timeline: November 2023-January 2025
Status:
  1. In progress: Meetings underway between CPHSHE and GW Cancer Center.

     
  2. Not started.

     
  3. Completed: Pilot telehealth initiative with federally qualified health center to improve stroke outcomes.

     
  4. In progress: Planning underway to identify ideal sites.

     
  5. Not Started.

     
  6. Not started.

 

Goal 11: Train and Support the Health Workforce

Develop and implement innovative programs to education and train a health workforce to address population health and health equity.

We will become a destination for training, development and education of clinicians in the principles of population health sciences and health services research, population health practice and community engagement.  We will lead in population health practice in the national capital region, the nation, and globally.

Action 11.1

Support the professional development of the Clinical Public Health and Population Health Practice (CPHPHP) faculty to incorporate best practices to improve existing CPHPHP curricula and build new ones, to perform scholarship studying best practices in medical education, and to disseminate lessons learned in our educational innovations implemented.

Metric(s):
  1. Develop GME CPHPHP track educational sessions and begin implementation by Jan 2024.

     
  2. Implement method to collect and analyze evaluation data on the CPHPHP GME tracks from participants in an ongoing fashion by April 2024.

     
  3. Present or publish two abstracts or papers about CPHPHP programs at regional/national conferences or in medical journals by July 2025.

     
  4. Mentor one CPHPHP faculty member to apply for Master Teacher Leadership Development Program, Foundations of Leadership Program, Academy of Education Scholars, or [CNMC equivalent program] by July 2025.
Timeline: 2023-26
Status:
  1. Completed: Three (3) GME sessions developed and instruction began with cohort launch in January 2024.

     
  2. In progress: Program evaluation design underway.

     
  3. In progress: Clinical Public Health Summit Course Directors drafting manuscript for submission in early 2024.

     
  4. In progress: Multiple faculty identified for mentorship with goal to apply for next cycle of MTL.
Action 11.2

Build the GW Resiliency and Well-Being Center that will educate and train the workforce and provide the best evidence-based techniques to support well-being and promote whole person care.

Metric(s):

Annual well-being survey showing GW in top 50% for well-being scores by 2026.



Reduction of attrition rates in GW medical enterprise to national averages by 2026.



Implementation of annual leadership surveys by AY 2024-2025 with follow-up.
Timeline: 2023-26
Status: In Progress: GW Resiliency and Well-Being Center services are ongoing. Survey data collected annually.

 

Goal 12: Strategic Partnerships

Enhance existing and establish new partnerships with community-based organizations and leaders to improve population health and health equity.

Located in the nation’s capital, GW’s academic medical enterprise will integrate leadership, policy, and advocacy into our education, research, and service activities. Our strong commitment to advocacy and service is manifest through our bi-directional approach to community engagement and service learning.

Action 12.1

Survey faculty, staff, students, existing strategic partners, and community members to determine effectiveness of existing partnerships, community priorities and future opportunities for community engagement in population health, health services, and health equity research, as well as service learning.

Metric(s):
  1. Develop survey tool by June 2023.

     
  2. Distribute tool to SMHS faculty, staff, students and key stakeholders by December 2023.

     
  3. Analyze survey results and distribute to stakeholders by June 2024.
Timeline: 2023

2024
Status:
  1. Completed Survey completed June 2023.

     
  2. In Progress: Survey distribution delayed due to need to align with other initiatives.

     
  3. Not started.
Action 12.2

Identify community organizations to partner with the Centers of Excellence (CoE) to inform population health, health services, and health equity research agenda.

Metric(s):
  1. Identify community partner for Cancer Center of Excellence by June 2024.

     
  2. Identify community partner for Neurological Sciences Center of Excellence by June 2025. 

     
  3. Identify community partner for Cardiovascular Center of Excellence by June 2025.
Timeline: November 2023-January 2025
Status:
  1. Completed: Identified health center and community-based organizations as partners September 2023.

     
  2. Completed: Identified federally qualified health center July 2023.

     
  3. Not started.