CHA Honored for Multicultural Initiative

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NEWS FROM CAMBRIDGE HEALTH ALLIANCE

May 12, 2008

Cambridge Health Alliance Honored for Multicultural Initiative to Improve Community Health

Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Revere, Somerville, Winthrop, MA…Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) announced today that the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) has named CHA the recipient of the 2008 Booker T. Washington Award. The award recognizes CHA’s Volunteer Health Advisor (VHA) Program for its outstanding contribution to the promotion of wellness in minority communities. Karen Hacker, MD, MPH, CHA’s Senior Medical Director for Public and Community Health, accepted the prize during NMQF’s 2008 Leadership Summit, an annual conference which focuses on disparities and improving the quality of care of minorities.

Established in 2001, Cambridge Health Alliance's Volunteer Health Advisor Program is a volunteer-driven, multicultural, and multilingual health education and outreach initiative designed to improve community health status. The VHA peer counseling/peer helper model is an evidence-based strategy for providing education and support for health behavior change. CHA works collaboratively with faith-based and community-based organizations to recruit, train, and support a sustainable volunteer workforce that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate health education and outreach to underserved and hard-to-reach populations. The VHA Program has received other national awards, including the NOVA Award, a top honor from the American Hospital Association, and the prestigious NAPH Community and Patient Service Award.

“The National Minority Quality Forum is pleased to acknowledge the leadership demonstrated by the Cambridge Health Alliance ensuring equitable healthcare for all Americans,” said Dr. Gary Puckrein, CEO of the National Minority Quality Forum. “CHA is delivering high quality health care services to high-risk racial and ethnic populations and communities,” continued Puckrein.

The National Minority Quality Forum was founded in 1998 to address the critical need for strengthening national and local efforts to use evidence-based, data-driven initiatives to guide programs to eliminate the disproportionate burden of premature death and preventable illness for racial and ethnic minorities and other special populations. For more information: www.nmqf.org

Caption: Rich Umbdenstock, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Hospital Association, presents the 2008 Booker T. Washington Award to Dr. Karen Hacker, Senior Medical Director for Public and Community Health at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), at the National Minority Quality Forum’s 2008 Leadership Summit. The award recognizes CHA’s Volunteer Health Advisor Program. (Photo courtesy of the National Minority Quality Forum.)

Cambridge Health Alliance is an innovative, award-winning health system that provides high quality care in Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston’s metro-north communities. It includes three hospital campuses, more than 20 primary care and specialty practices, the Cambridge Public Health Dept., and the Network Health plan. CHA is a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate and is also affiliated with Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Tufts University School of Medicine. Visit us online at www.challiance.org.