Cultural Humility and Inclusive Healthcare Team (Est. November 2022)

Our team's primary focus revolves around promoting inclusivity, cultural competence, and health equity in healthcare and related services. The team aims to foster a more diverse healthcare workforce while improving the patient experience through better communication and accessibility.

Project #1

Reflection Fridays

CACH Objectives:

  • Promote Inclusivity

  • Raise Awareness

  • Facilitate Dialogue

  • Knowledge Sharing

  • Networking

  • Community Engagement

  • Information Dissemination

  • Collaboration Building

  • Actionable Insights

  • Feedback Collection

  • Measurable Impact

  • Diverse Representation

  • Accessibility

  • Promote Equity Initiatives

Overview of the Reflection Fridays Project:

  • An inclusive gathering for healthcare professionals, social service providers, government staff, and community members to come together and talk about important health equity issues. Invitations for Reflection Fridays will be shared broadly across the community. All are welcome!

  • The first Reflection Friday was a success! 39 people attended from 10 different organizations.

1st Reflection Friday Event and Re-cap (September 29, 2023)

Participants were invited to join a virtual dining table for a free, informal virtual community storytelling session about our unique food memories.

Goals:

  • Hear what food means to you, your holistic health, and your unique identity

  • Diversify food options in our local food pantries (What are your pantry essentials and what would you want others to try adding to their pantries?)

Results:

  • 39 people from 10 different organizations attended the event

Reflection Friday Recap and Resources:

Videos:

Additional Resources:

The role of cultural foods in healthy eating: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/healthy-eating-cultural-foods#The-role-of-cultural-foods-in-our-lives

The importance of enjoying cultural food traditions as a part of healthy eating: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/enjoy-your-food/cultures-food-traditions-and-healthy-eating/

The importance of indigenous foods to native Alaskans: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/dining/covid-indigenous-foods-alaska.html

Project #2

Cultural Resource Guide

CACH Objectives:

  • Cultural Competence Education

  • Effective Communication Skills

  • Patient-Centered Care

  • Minimize Potential Harm

  • Enhance Empathy and Understanding

  • Practical Guidance

  • Reduce Health Disparities

  • Continuous Learning

  • Cross-Departmental Collaboration

  • Measurable Outcomes

  • Feedback Mechanism

  • Resource Accessibility

  • Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural Resource Guide Overview:

  • A resource for both clinical and non-clinical staff, offering insights into how a patient's background can shape their individual experiences.

  • Guides will offer practical advice on effective communication with patients while delivering high-quality, patient-centered care, and minimizing potential harm

Coming Soon!

When the resource guide is complete it will be distributed widely. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments please email Kristin Fontaine at: kristin.fontaine@uvmhealth.org

Project #3

Workforce Development

CACH Objectives:

  • Understanding Existing Initiatives

  • Identifying Barriers to Licensure

  • Affordable Housing Assessment

  • Racism and Discrimination Analysis

  • Data Collection

  • Stakeholder Engagement

  • Best Practices Review

  • Policy Recommendation

  • Public Awareness

  • Long-Term Impact Assessment

  • Recommendation Implementation

Workforce Development Project Overview:

Research is underway to better understand existing community-level work that focuses on diversifying the healthcare workforce. This includes better understanding barriers to licensure for new immigrants who were healthcare providers in their home country, lack of affordable housing, and racism and discrimination in hiring processes.

Project #4

Health Literacy Wayfinding Project

CACH Objectives:

  • Barrier Identification

  • Signage and Iconography Evaluation

  • Diverse Input Collection

  • Findings and Recommendations Report

  • Improved Wayfinding Strategies

  • Clear Language and Icon Usage

  • Enhanced User Experience

  • Inclusivity Promotion

  • Ongoing Assessment Framework

  • Collaborative Implementation

  • Impact Measurement

  • Community Awareness

  • Sharing Best Practices

  • Universal Accessibility Alignment

Health Literacy Wayfinding Project Overview:

  • Recruit participants and conduct a navigation and wayfinding assessment of UVM Medical Center through a health literacy lens. 

  • Results from the assessment will help inform ways the hospital can be more accessible and use language and icons that everyone can understand.

For more information please reach out to Chrissy Keating, Community Health Improvement Health Literacy Specialist, at Christina.Keating@uvmhealth.org.

Project #5

Hair Equity Project

CACH Objectives:

  • Product Diversification

  • Staff Training on Inclusive Hair Care

  • Equitable Care Environment

  • Utilize Quality Improvement Methodology

  • Enhance Patient Experience

  • Community Engagement

  • Feedback Collection and Analysis

  • Sustainability Planning

  • Awareness and Education

  • Evaluation Metrics

  • Resource Allocation

  • Equity Advocacy

  • Community Integration

Hair Equity Project Overview:

The Hair Equity Project aims to diversify hair care products and train staff on inclusive hair care practices. Building on a model from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a team of UVM Medical Center employees are working to improve and create a more equitable care environment using quality improvement methodology. 

Project Updates:

  • Recruited (15) product testers to provide feedback on shampoos, conditioners, lotions, detanglers, hair dressings lotions, curl cremes and more!

  • Hair testers include both UVM Health staff and community members

  • Our project not only introduced project-based compensation through a Consulting Services Agreement with support from legal and accounting but also paved the way for future similar projects to receive funding

  • Testers include hair types ranging from 2A – 4C

  • Testers include a variety of hair styles which require different types of products and care training (afro, braids, color treated, diffused, locs, relaxed, twists, wash and go)

  • Nearly (35) different products being tested

  • Testers are currently in a 6-week product testing period with optional weekly check-in

  • Cornerstone training (UVM Health Network training platform) to support training efforts is underway, adapting an existing training from Nationwide Children’s Hospital

  • Currently coordinating with RN and LNA leaders on a hands-on training plan roll out

  • The Hair Equity Project has been selected to present at the 2023 Health Equity Summit (UVM) and the 2023 New England Rural Health Association Conference in Killington