Interview with Samuel L. Ross, MD
Community Engagement Addresses Health Disparities MARY ANN STEINER
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amuel L. Ross, MD, is the current chief community health officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health, one of the largest health care systems in the nation, with facilities that serve communities in Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. He is responsible for a large network of community outreach initiatives that focus on housing, education, job skills, behavioral health, substance abuse and rehabilitation, all focused on reducing health disparities and improving access to care for the communities that Bon Secours Mercy serves. Dr. Ross, you’re recognized across the country as strong advocate for reducing health disparities and increasing access to care. Where do you see the momentum for that now and what things do you see changing for the better, or maybe for the worse?
More recently, the momentum has come from the heightened awareness and ongoing documentation of health disparities/inequities and social justice issues due to years of structural racism in African Americans as outcomes of the COVID pandemic and the death of George Floyd and other persons of color. The challenge to that momentum is still whether this heightened awareness will lead to sustainable changes in intentional community engagement and investments.
A lot of the momentum was coming from industry accelerators, most of that coming from the revenue side around valuebased purchasing. And as managed care — whether that’s Medicare, Medicaid or a commercial entity — they put more emphasis on social determinants, using A lot has happened in the last financial incentives, and someten years that affects racial and times penalties, to address screenethnic disparities: the ACA and ing and then referral of those Medicaid expansion; Black Lives attributed members to services in Matter; the immigration situathe community. These members tion. What can Catholic health usually make up a smaller subset care do to help move the needle of the broader community. on racial equity and health care Another form of momentum Samuel L. Ross, MD, MS access? comes as organizations more If we are true to our mission, deeply embrace their mission and their role as if we are true to the principles of Catholic social anchors in their communities. That also serves as teaching, if we are true to our commitment to have an accelerator or reminder of institutional com- prophetic voice, certainly in the form of advocacy, mitments made over the years. then we will intensify and be more intentional
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SUMMER 2020
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