Health is a key value for Black Californians, who devote substantial effort to pursuing physical and mental well-being. But our active engagement in health care alone cannot move the dial on Black health equity. California must invest in targeted efforts to improve medical care for Black patients.

In late 2023, CHCF put out a call for projects that would improve clinical quality of care for Black Californians. The response was voluminous, with community clinics, hospitals, and technology start-ups from across the state proposing interventions that addressed the care continuum.  

Visionary Organizations

I’m proud to announce the recipients of grants through CHCF’s Pulse of Change: A Black Health Initiative. These were awarded to eight visionary organizations working to create a safer and stronger health system for Black Californians. These groups have deep knowledge about the interaction among health systems, cultural strengths, and health outcomes. We hope their insights will help us learn how to improve quality in California’s health care system by advancing Black health equity.  

Over two years, the Pulse of Change leaders will conduct their quality improvement interventions, assess progress toward their goals, and, if appropriate, implement sustainability plans enabling providers to integrate the changes into regular clinical practice. Along the way, we will share the successes, challenges, and lessons learned to help health equity leaders adopt or improve upon the approaches demonstrated in this initiative.  

I hope you will join us on this journey. 

Meet the Pulse of Change Leaders

Baywell Health (formerly West Oakland Health Council) will provide culturally concordant patient navigation services and social interventions to 100 Black East Bay residents with uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes. Baywell intends to use home and community visits, clinic appointments, and post-clinic follow-ups to control diabetes and hypertension rates, and to increase cancer screening rates and vaccination uptake. 

Culture Care, a Berkeley-based telemedicine start-up, will support two cohorts of pregnant Black women and birthing people with prenatal and postpartum care up to one year after their deliveries. The company uses a virtual group care model with interdisciplinary teams consisting of an ob/gyn, a mental health therapist, a lactation expert, and a pediatrician. Culture Care does not compete with patients’ primary prenatal care providers but instead infuses equity into their health care experiences through access to an all-Black clinician team. 

Marin City Health and Wellness Center will pilot a program to improve hypertension control for Black patients in Marin City through enhanced care and social interventions. The program will screen patients for high blood pressure and social needs, provide care management support, and engage patients’ families and friends in lifestyle change activities.  

Riverside Community Health Foundation aims to lower hypertension rates among Black adults in Riverside County through early screening and intervention that includes community and faith-based partnerships. The foundation will provide free mobile blood pressure screenings, reduce transportation needs, and establish a health care environment where Black patients feel heard, respected, and empowered. Patients with high blood pressure will be referred to providers for quality management through the use of community health workers trained to measure blood pressure and promote patient adherence to follow-up visits, provision of timely care, and patient education services. Data on clinical outcomes and patient engagement and satisfaction will be collected to ensure equity. 

San Diego Community Birth Center is the only Black-owned birth center in San Diego County. Its project aims to improve Black maternal and infant health outcomes by lowering rates of perinatal anxiety, postpartum depression, and preeclampsia through culturally congruent midwifery care. Prenatal patients will receive care that includes social interventions and resources, as well as strong coordination with hospitals.  

San Ysidro Health is one of the largest and most comprehensive Federally Qualified Health Centers in San Diego County. It will pilot a program to increase colorectal cancer screenings among Black patients ages 45 to 75. The effort will use a care coordination team to identify screening barriers faced by Black patients, gather input from patients on those barriers, and design and test process changes. Patients with a positive screen will be quickly linked to a specialist for follow-up care and treatment.  

The Solid Start Initiative recognizes that pregnancy is a critical window for disrupting intergenerational trauma. It will leverage this opportunity to improve mental health for Black patients at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center’s obstetrics, midwifery, and gynecology clinic. The goal is to strengthen coordination between Black patients and lead care managers who can streamline perinatal depression screenings and mental health care, as well as connect patients to doulas. 

Sutter Health aims to improve heart failure treatment outcomes and build trust with Black patients in the East Bay market. The Sacramento-based health system will enroll patients with heart failure in a virtual pharmacy ambulatory care clinic to ensure they receive optimal treatment, and provide patients with food insecurity access to a digital nutrition program and free food vouchers through Instacart Health. Sutter Health will collaborate with Black patients to develop health equity quality indicators and collect data on patients’ encounters with anti-Black racism in the health care system. 

Katherine Haynes

Katherine Haynes is a senior program officer in CHCF’s People-Centered Care team, which works to ensure that Californians — particularly those enrolled in Medi-Cal — receive responsive, comprehensive, and coordinated care that supports their health and well-being. She uses research, strategy and organizational design, futurism, and design thinking to create scalable, sustainable programs. Read More

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Bridging the Divide Between Mental Health Care and Addiction Treatment, Achieving Health Equity for Black Californians: A Look at CHCF’s Newest Program, CHCF’s Response to the COVID-19 Behavioral Health Crisis in California

Paula Ginsborg

Paula Ginsborg is the CHCF Communications & Engagement team’s digital design strategist, managing graphic design and digital imagery. Paula holds a bachelor’s degree in art history and Spanish from Mary Baldwin College and a certificate in design communication arts from UCLA Extension.