Thread by @harrymunroe_

In July of 2021, the @CDCgov announced a decrease in US life expectancy of 1.5 years, the biggest one-year decline since #WWII. Even before COVID-19, however, the US has seen several years of declining life expectancy in the past decade. #ph260720 #COVID
cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom…

Meanwhile, we see a widening gap in medical care between those with high and low status, leading to much larger declines in life expectancy for black and brown populations during #COVID19. How do you think these gaps came to be? #ph260720 #Healthcare

#hospitals continue to #Innovate and improve their medical care, following charters to improve health and care for the needy. However, they often fail to address the non-medical needs of their community, the “social determinants of health” #ph260720 #CommunityHealth

The concept of social determinants of health #SDoH has blasted to the front of the national conversation over the past few years as it has become painfully clear how much your #employment, #housing, #food, neighborhood #environment, health #behaviors, etc. affect your #health

In some circles it is estimated that only 20% of health outcomes are actually due to #Medical care. Check out this white paper for more info #ph260720 #SDoH
partnershiphp.org/Providers/Qual…

.@IBMWatsonHealth and @JohnsHopkinsSPH took a big step to change this. They added a new measure of community health to Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals Program which used to focus only on outcomes such as #ClinicalCare and #OperationalPerformance #ph260720 #CommunityHealth

You can check out more information on @IBMWatsonHealth #100Top program here: ibm.com/products/100-t… #ph260720

The team defined 28 best practice standards with each #evidencebased standard following existing standards and including examples of hospitals following those practices. You can find the full writeup of the measure proposal here #ph260720 #CommunityHealth americanhealth.jhu.edu/sites/default/…

The hospital as healthcare provider category suggests #PreventiveServices a hospital can provide. Examples include tobacco cessation, healthy meals, reducing #Falls among patients, and supporting breastfeeding. What other standards would you suggest? #ph260720 #CommunityHealth

The hospital as community partner category suggests ways hospitals can expand the reach of community groups. Examples include supporting #SchoolSuccess, accessible foods, affordable housing, and community health workers. What other standards would you suggest? #ph260720

The hospital as anchor institution category suggests ways hospitals can set an example for other institutions. Examples include a #LivingWage, management diversity, sick leave, and sustainability #ESG. What other standards would you suggest? #ph260720 #CommunityHealth

The proposal was implemented in the 2021 #100Top Hospitals Program, announced in April of 2021. Here’s a write up of the entire process, including more details on the implementation of the measure by @IBMWatsonHealth #ph260720
healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hbl…

I was thankful to be able to work on this program with @drJoshS @DrRachelT @EktaPunwani @KyuRheeMD and countless others. I hope this is just the start and that we can elevate the need to provide holistic care to improve health. #ph260720 #CommunityHealth #healthequity