Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

Issue

African American Woman in a hospital waiting room. The MetroWest area is one of the healthiest regions of Massachusetts. Yet, there are significant segments of our community that have higher rates of illness and disease or report poorer health outcomes. The Foundation is working with local providers and our area’s Latino, Brazilian and African-American communities to address such issues as access to care, insurance coverage and resources for pregnancy prevention and diabetes care management.

Strategy

Grantmaking

The Foundation provides grants to local health organizations to target specific health issues affecting minority populations in the MetroWest area. These include grants to improve access to health care and health insurance, teen pregnancy prevention, and health screening and disease prevention.

Cultural Competency

The Foundation promotes cultural competence among health care organizations, providers, and staff in an effort to effectively serve the health care needs of diverse communities living in the MetroWest region. This initiative involves grant-making, training sessions, and cultural competency building tools and resources.

Disparities Workgroup

The Foundation convenes a community-wide workgroup that serves as a central point for coordinating and sharing of information on racial and ethnic disparities, promoting dialogue, and devising concrete solutions to address disparities in health and health care in MetroWest area. If you are interested in participating in this workgroup, please contact Ramani Sripada.

The Dr. Leon Nicks Memorial Minority Physician Fellowship Program

There is a growing need in the MetroWest area for physicians that reflect the racial and linguistic diversity of the community. Several groups such as Brazilians, Latinos/ Hispanics, and African-Americans are underrepresented when it comes to health care providers.

Collaborating with MetroWest Medical Center, the Framingham Community Health Center, and other area hospitals, the Foundation will provide two-year fellowships enabling these institutions to recruit minority physicians to practice primary care and family medicine in the MetroWest area. For more info contact Ramani Sripada.

See a list of Current and Past Nicks Fellows

Publications & Resources

Feeling the Strain: The Impact of Stress on the
Health of African-American Men PDF

Minority Health Resources

All links below are PDFs PDF .

Cultural Competency Resources

Washington State Department of Health: Cultural Competency in Health Services and Care – A Guide for Health Care Providers

MetroWest Population Changes 2000 to 2010

Community Health Data

Close Move

This fellowship is awarded in memory of Dr. T. Leon Nicks, a lifelong advocate for access to high quality health care for all members of the community and a member of the Foundation’s Distribution Committee. Dr. Nicks graduated from Talladega College and Temple University, and received his doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Boston University in 1960. He organized and developed the Multicultural Training and Psychology Program at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Nicks worked tirelessly to improve health care and substance abuse services as Director of the federal Department of Health & Human Services, Region One.

Close Move

Current and Past Nicks Fellows