| |  | | | "Sometimes being a good ally is about opening the door for someone instead of insisting that your voice is the only one that matters." — Mikki Kendall, Hood Feminism | | | | Welcome to Health Equity Solutions' monthly newsletter! Have content to contribute? Fill out this form.
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Know someone else who might be interested in receiving our newsletter? Share this subscription link! | | | | | | "Covert Racism" Covert racism is hidden in the fabric of society, where racist actions are either passive or ambiguous. People who commit this type of racism rationalize it with reasons that society is more willing to believe and accept. | |  | | | | | | | | | | | Session Updates -
H.B. 5320: An Act Concerning Hospital Financial Assistance had a public hearing on March 6th. We had 16 oral and 25+ written testimonies supporting H.B. 5320! On March 11th, the Public Health Committee voted H.B. 5320 favorably out of the committee. Thank you to all the committee members who voted favorably on H.B. 5320, especially the Public Health Committee Co-Chairs, Senator Anwar and Representative McCarthy Vahey, and our bill co-sponsors, Representative Elliot and Representative Denning, for their support. -
HES recently launched a NEW LANDING PAGE for all updates on hospital financial assistance for the 2024 legislative session. Download our social media toolkits and visit our landing page here. -
Public Hearings have ended. You can find the testimonies HES have submitted here. | | | | | | | | | Happy Health Equity Week 2024! This year’s theme is “Affording Equity” because times are tough, and many Connecticut residents cannot afford what they need to stay healthy. Some have huge medical bills, others worry about not having a stable place to live, and many are stressed about paying off student loans. “Affording Equity” reminds us how important it is to tackle these problems so everyone can have a fair chance to access what they need for a good and healthy life. Join us TONIGHT for a special event on Medical Debt & Hospital Financial Assistance! Spanish Inteprepration & Translation available. Combatting Medical Debt: A Fireside Chat (Virtual): More than 200,000 people in Connecticut have medical debt. Join Health Equity Solutions and the Health Equity by the People for the People Coalition to learn your rights to combat medical debt, share your experiences, and learn how you can advocate to prevent medical debt in Connecticut. | |  | | |  | | Yesterday, HES and partners were at the Legislative Office Building advocating for “Affording Equity”. We had a very successful press conference and shared our message loud and clear: we need our legislature to ensure that accessing healthcare will not result in medical debt for CT residents! Thank you to everyone who supported us and joined the conversation. Together, we can make a difference! #AffordingEquity #HEW2024 | |  | Do you want to Sponsor the event? Sponsors of Health Equity Week 2024 receive prominent visibility and recognition. Together, let’s promote the accessibility and affordability of healthcare for ALL residents of Connecticut! Health Equity Solutions is a registered 501(3)(c) charity and all donations, including sponsorships, are tax-deductible as allowed by IRS regulations. Interested in sponsoring Health Equity Week or making a charitable donation to Health Equity Solutions? Contact Jennifer Baril at jbaril@hesct.org! We appreciate your support. View the sponsorship package here! | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | Join our Executive Director Ayesha R. Clarke at the Hilton Garden in Wallingford, CT on Wednesday, April 10th at 8:30 AM for a free summit on addressing health equity and health disparities hosted by the Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc. (CHNCT). Contact: hesummit@chnct.org Register here. | |  | New Health Equity Tools! Developed via the HES Advantage We recently released several new health equity tools in collaboration with the State Health & Value Strategies. Special thanks to Dr. Tekisha Dwan Everette, Dashni Sathasivam, and Karen Siegel for all their hard work and contributions. Click here to learn more about these tools and how to use them. Check them out here: -
The Health Equity Impact Tool is a multi-part online evaluation for state agencies to examine their equity work at a high level. -
The Health Equity Policy Tool is a framework for reviewing and evaluating the impact on equity of current or proposed policies and projects. | | | The HES Advantage is an extension of Health Equity Solutions that offers customizable, equitable consulting, facilitation, and training services to agencies, healthcare systems, and communities with a race-forward approach. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Join the YWCA Hartford Region for their 2024 YWCA Racial Justice Challenge starting April 1st. Through daily challenge activities, participants will engage in personal reflection, explore issues of race, power, and privilege, and identify ways to dismantle racism and discrimination. Join the movement for equity and social justice! Register here. | |  | | Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW), held annually from April 11th to 17th, is a campaign by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to raise awareness, activism, and community-building around the experiences of Black Mamas and birthing people. This year's theme, "Our Bodies STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice NOW!" addresses ongoing challenges in maternal health and advocates for comprehensive healthcare coverage, improved access to care, equitable treatment, and funding for research and programs centered on Black women and birthing people. Register today! | |  |  | Free Doula Program for Bridgeport, CT Residents Are you a resident of Bridgeport, CT? Will you or someone you know give birth before June 1st, 2024? Register for free Doula support with Earth's Natural Touch: Birth Care & Beyond. Check out the flyer for more details. | |  | | | | | | | Stay informed about the latest developments in health equity, social determinants of health, racial justice, and more! Every week, we feature relevant news articles and reports on our social media. Check out a few highlights below: | | | | Made it this far? Thank you so much for reading our updates! We appreciate your support. If you have any questions, please email info@hesct.org. Best, HES Team | | | | | | Health Equity Solutions
53 Oak Street | Hartford, Connecticut 06106
860.461.7637 | info@hesct.org | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
