Cincinnati hospital initiative aims to identify racial disparities

In the past year all of the major health systems in Cincinnati have trained registration staff to ask patients to self-report their race, ethnicity and language, in an effort to identify potential gaps in care for certain racial and ethnic groups (Source: “Effort under way to identify, address unequal care,” Hamilton Journal-News, Dec. 11, 2011).

The Greater Cincinnati Health Council initiative, called Cincinnati Expecting Success, first started at the end of 2009 and soon is expected to be expanded to physician practices. It is part of the Robert Wood Johnson Aligning Forces for Quality work being done in Cincinnati.

“We as a nation are aware there are health disparities. Cincinnati as a community wants to address it,” said Emily Seitz Pawlak, Mercy Health divisional director of patient access. “It’s all about at the end of the day providing culturally competent care.”