We can’t change the world by ourselves. Partnering with others who share our mission and values is necessary to bring about real and lasting improvements. Dignity Health’s Community Health Improvement Grants program is one way we are working collaboratively to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable and underserved populations in the communities we serve. 

“While we can’t resolve every problem or unmet need, we can help convene people and organizations committed to health improvement, and contribute resources to support collaborators in delivering valuable services,” said Michael Bilton, system director of Community Health and Community Benefit. “We can be a catalyst for building capacity for more equitable and resilient communities.”

In 2022 and 2023, the Dignity Health Community Health Improvement Grants program awarded nearly $10 million to nonprofit organizations throughout California. Since 1991, the program has awarded $97 million to 3,900 health improvement projects. These community organizations are leading initiatives to address some of the most important challenges facing Californians, including:

• Homelessness: Funding programs such as transitional housing, day programs to provide food and supplies, mental health services, and many others.
• Food Insecurity: Programs addressing nutrition education, micro-farming, family health and wellness, providing food for unhoused individuals and families, obesity prevention, free fruits and vegetables and nutrition programs for seniors, among others.
• Diabetes Prevention: Organizations focused on maintaining healthy lifestyles and physical activity, delivery of nutritious food to vulnerable populations, and programs to address social determinants of health for patients with chronic conditions.
• Mental Health: Programs providing mental health counseling and prevention education curricula for students, bullying prevention, independent life skills mentoring and restorative job training, and culturally competent support for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).
• Violence Prevention: Organizations providing child abuse prevention programs, youth mentoring, victim advocates, domestic violence awareness and crisis support, and support for victims of human trafficking.

Learn more about community grants provided by Dignity Health’s California hospitals here:

• Bakersfield
• Central Coast
• Greater Sacramento Area
• Los Angeles
• Oxnard
• Redding/RedBluff/Mt. Shasta
• Santa Cruz County
• Stockton

For more information about the Community Health Improvement Grants program, and other community health initiatives, visit https://www.dignityhealth.org/about-us/community-health. 

Newsweek and market data research firm Plant-A Insights looked at 1,000 companies and based their scores on publicly available data, interviews with HR professionals and an anonymous online survey of a diverse pool of employees at companies with 1,000 or more employees in the U.S. Respondents were asked questions about corporate culture, working environment and other subjects at both their own companies and others they were familiar with. The survey yielded more than 350,000 company reviews.

“We are honored that Newsweek has recognized our efforts to create a healthcare system that fosters belonging, respect and value for everyone who enters our doors,” said Julie J. Sprengel, President and CEO, CommonSpirit Health Southern California Division, parent company of Dignity Health. “It’s important that our physicians and staff members reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, as we believe it builds trust among our patients which leads to improved outcomes.”

Dignity Health is a part of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system committed to advancing health for all people and is dedicated to serving the common good.

In total, the two CommonSpirit Health California divisions represented in this ranking employ nearly 43,000 individuals that work across different healthcare settings from community hospitals, urgent care clinics to surgery and imaging centers. The communities represented cover highly populated metropolitan areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles to smaller, suburban communities such as the cities of Woodland and Camarrillo.

“California consistently ranks as one of the most diverse states in the country and we’re proud to have made concerted efforts to mirror that diversity within our workforce,” said Shelly Schorer, Interim President and CEO, CommonSpirit Health Northern California Division, parent company of Dignity Health. “It’s motivating to hear of this distinction as it comes on the heels of years of important work – from our launch of medical residency initiatives that expand opportunities for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) to being recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index – we are encouraged now more than ever to continue these ongoing advancements.”

In the development of this list, Newsweek aimed to better inform the public of employers who are truly dedicated to Diversity.

“With the word ‘diversity’ attracting so much attention from companies, however, it can be tough for job applicants, customers and potential business partners to tell who is serious about supporting a diverse workforce,” shared Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief, Newsweek.

Newsweek grouped the winning companies by six main economic sectors and 34 industries. The top scoring companies are themselves a diverse list spanning different kinds of businesses. See the full list here.

Additionally, a survey from the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking found that over half of labor and sex trafficking survivors had accessed health care at least once while being trafficked, but nearly 97% of that group had not received any information about human trafficking during those encounters.

The bottom line: health care professionals are too often unprepared to identify and assist trafficked persons. Dignity Health is working to change that through its Medical Safe Haven program.

The Medical Safe Haven program provides comprehensive, trauma-informed health services to trafficking survivors, as well as training for physicians and future health care providers. 

“Trafficking victims experience a range of acute and chronic physical and mental health issues resulting from their traumatic experiences,” said Jennifer Cox, Program Director, Medical Safe Haven. “This multi-disciplinary program provides equitable access and integrates embedded advocacy and a one stop shop care model for patients, reducing barriers which existed prior as they would face traveling from clinic to clinic, or accessing care at Emergency Departments. This model of trauma-informed care shows a strong reduction in re-traumatization for victims, and is the appropriate and supportive medical environment on their healing journey.”

Dignity Health provides Medical Safe Haven programs in Sacramento, Santa Maria, Redding, and Los Angeles. The integrated care model offers survivors the full spectrum of health services, including: primary care, prenatal and obstetrical care, newborn, pediatric and adolescent care, mental health support, vaccinations, STI testing and treatment, PrEP, telehealth, and other essential services. The program concurrently trains future physicians to be able to identify, respond to, and appropriately care for trafficking survivors. 

“The Medical Safe Haven model was designed to provide health care staff the compassionate education and experience to effectively treat victims of human trafficking using evidence-based methodologies, said Willard Chung, MD, Family Medicine Residency Program Director at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria. “Our physician group is eager for the opportunity to provide the appropriate levels of care and resources for survivors of trafficking, as there is a need for these services locally.” 

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call or visit the National Human Trafficking Hotline: (888) 373-7888. For more information about Dignity Health’s Human Trafficking Response Program, visit https://www.commonspirit.org/what-we-do/advancing-health-equity/human-trafficking-response-program. 

 

Every pregnancy-related death is tragic, especially because about 60% of maternal deaths are preventable. Still, about 700 U.S. women die each year from complications of pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The staff at Dignity Health Methodist Hospital of Sacramento is working hard to curb those outcomes and treat serious pregnancy complications. 

The hospital’s dedicated Obstetrics Emergency Department (OB ED), which opened in December 2021, is a unique and critical resource for the region, providing immediate, specialized assessment for women during their pregnancy and up to six weeks postpartum. 

“An OB ED redefines the standard of women’s care in the hospital setting, ensuring that every patient is evaluated by a specialist experienced in high-risk obstetrics and emergencies,” said Dr. Jennifer Overbey, Methodist Hospital of Sacramento’s Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

There are many reasons that a patient might seek care at an OB ED, including bleeding, high blood pressure and abdominal pain. The OB ED at Methodist Hospital is equipped to provide fetal monitoring, ultrasounds, labs and physical exams with humankindness, high quality, and efficiency. The OB ED serves patients starting at 14 weeks of pregnancy, and all patients with a pregnancy-related issue are seen by a board certified Obstetrician. 

As of October 2022, the Methodist OB ED has seen nearly 2,000 patients, and is seeing an average of six patients each day. Physicians are identifying serious conditions including pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in a timely manner, preventing maternal stroke.

“Any complications or issues that arise as an expectant mother can cause a high level of anxiety and concern,” Dr. Overbey said. “An OB ED provides mom and her loved ones the high-quality care and answers they deserve.” 

In Sacramento, four regional health systems are committed to becoming a part of the collective, community-wide system that can help reduce chronic homelessness.

Dignity Health, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, and UC Davis Health have partnered with Sacramento Steps Forward on a pilot supported by Community Solutions and Institute for Healthcare Improvement to help reduce and end homelessness at a population level. Sacramento Steps Forward is the lead agency of the local Continuum of Care, which has been working alongside Sacramento County and the City of Sacramento to reduce homelessness.

“We have been embracing a critical change to make sure that all of our efforts are aimed at reducing homelessness,” said Lisa Bates, the CEO of Sacramento Steps Forward. “The strength of this community has been historically rooted in the dedicated agencies and organizations, which deliver excellent programs. We are knitting together those efforts — and this new partnership — into a strong, coordinated system of response that defines our collective success by whether we are getting closer to zero homelessness.”

By harnessing their unique position at the cross-section of care delivery and public health, health systems are supporting the community-wide efforts to achieve these goals.

“It’s exciting that Sacramento’s four health systems are doubling down on our collective commitment to help drive measurable reductions in homelessness in our community, while improving both housing and health outcomes for those experiencing homelessness,” said James ‘Jay’ Robinson, who is Kaiser Permanente Sacramento and South Sacramento Senior Vice President and Area Manager.

“This started with deepening our relationship with Sacramento Steps Forward and the Sacramento Continuum of Care to better understand the needs of our local homeless response system,” Robinson said. “Doing so has already helped us make more informed, systems-level investments that have increased the capacity of the broader homeless response system in Sacramento County.”

From Programs to Systems
Historically, the four regional health systems have worked together to address homelessness by helping to develop and invest in effective programs such as Whole Person Care, Medical Respite, and the Triage, Transport, and Treatment Program.

While these programs were important, the pilot participants recognized an opportunity to partner differently with homeless serving organizations and agencies, as well as the broader Continuum of Care in Sacramento County.

They aimed to understand what systems approaches might yield the greatest impact in reducing chronic homelessness, improving long-term health and housing outcomes for people experiencing chronic homelessness, and achieving greater value for community investments.

“Collaboration across multi-sectors is vital when aiming to make transformational changes within our regional system to serve our unhoused neighbors,” said Michael Korpiel, the President of Dignity Health Mercy San Juan Medical Center and Greater Sacramento Market President.

The pilot participants began to do a deep dive into their own hospital discharge and care support processes, reviewed community benefits investments across all four systems and their resulting impact on reducing homelessness, and conducted an in-depth analysis into how the homeless response system currently operates and interacts with the health system.

“Dignity Health and our other health systems in the Sacramento market remain committed to working with Sacramento Steps Forward and our homeless service providers to improve the Continuum of Care and ultimately resulting in all of our communities having stable, safe and affordable housing,” he said.

Improving Quality Data
One key area of opportunity was to improve the exchange of data between health systems and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).

By sharing data, they sought to improve coordination for housing and health services for the population, support accelerated housing placements, and improve health outcomes. To fully realize this potential, the pilot participants had to work together to develop data-sharing agreements and protocols across the Continuum of Care and health systems. These are currently under review.

The health systems have also incorporated performance measures tied to overall reduction in chronic homelessness, including housing placement timeframes, access to services, and overall reductions in hospital utilization for non-acute care.

“With closer monitoring and measuring of more outcomes through shared data and care coordination across health systems, we can better work together to deliver comprehensive care, including connecting patients with the additional health care and social services they need,” said Dr. David Lubarsky, the CEO of UC Davis Health. “Research shows social and economic drivers affect health outcomes and costs in significant ways. By working together, we can help address these factors and improve health in a sustainable, cost-effective manner while better meeting the specific needs of each individual person.”

Increasing Participation and Investment
The coordinated access system refers to the homeless response system that identifies and supports people so that they can exit homelessness. The strength of this system depends on many factors, including the number of participating service providers, how well the population of people experiencing homelessness is understood, and the capacity of the system to respond to the data it collects.

The health systems are strengthening their participation in, and support of, the coordinated access system. They are standing up a centralized model to link patients who are experiencing chronic homelessness and identified as regular users of the emergency department to the broader homeless system of care. To improve health and housing outcomes, they are also developing a process map of emergency department triage and referral process for patients experiencing homelessness and inpatient discharge workflows.

The health systems also aim to leverage their own ability to increase participation and coordination by others. For example, the health systems will require any local homeless services providers to participate in the Continuum of Care’s system-wide approach to be eligible for funding from them. They have also jointly funded three new staff positions at Sacramento Steps Forward, which will support improved case conferencing and process improvements in the homeless response system, expand the agency’s capacity around policy and communications, and create a new Sacramento Funders Collaborative to leverage additional private and public funding into a system-wide approach.

“At the outset of the pilot, we asked ourselves, ‘What role can health systems own to effectuate systemic change that leads to real, visible, tangible, and lasting results?’” said Keri Thomas, the Vice President, External Affairs for the Sutter Health Valley Area. “We are learning there are many opportunities — whether that is to be better coordinated in our community investments, enhanced triage support for patients experiencing homelessness, or to be a role model on how to leverage our health system knowledge to support improvements in the broader homeless response system.”

Homelessness is a public health crisis across the state, and individuals experiencing homelessness face a multitude of challenges when it comes to finding permanent housing solutions and managing their health. New and innovative approaches are desperately needed to effectively reach this population. That’s why Dignity Health’s Homeless Health Initiative has partnered with The Salvation Army and donated nearly $1.1 million to help support and expand its homeless outreach program in communities across California.

In cities like Stockton, The Salvation Army’s Street Level Mobile Homeless Outreach Program is making a meaningful impact by taking support services to the streets with vehicles that serve as a caseworker’s office on wheels. Its primary goal is to help people improve housing stability in their lives, whether that means going from the streets to a shelter, a shelter to permanent housing, or helping those without shelter to connect to the services and resources they need and find employment. 

This strategy focuses on meeting people where they are in a non-threatening, trust-building and consistent way to help them find resources appropriate for their situation. Outreach teams are often led by those who were previously homeless, providing authentic experiences to further trust and support. 

Since the program began in 2021, outreach teams have reached thousands of homeless individuals and are making a real impact throughout California’s Central Valley and in San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. 

 

Some people might look at a landfill and only see piles of stinky garbage.
But the leadership at Marian Regional Medical Center saw potential. 

Through a process called cogeneration, Marian Regional Medical Center repurposes methane gas runoff from the local landfill, generating energy that powers electricity and heat for the hospital. In total, almost 43 percent of the energy used to power the hospital comes from the two on-site cogeneration plants. Annual electrical cost savings are estimated to be nearly $350,000.

“This truly is a win-win initiative,” says Marian Regional Medical Center President and CEO Sue Andersen. “The community and the environment are benefiting through decreased CO2 emissions, Marian

is achieving energy and financial savings, and the City of Santa Maria is making use of and receiving revenue for an otherwise unused, potentially toxic resource.”

The system works by capturing toxic methane gas run-off from the Santa Maria Municipal Landfill and piping it to two eco-friendly energy plants on the hospital campus where it is converted to clean electrical energy. Marian Regional Medical Center is now one of only a handful of healthcare facilities in the nation to be powered by co-generated energy. 

A natural byproduct of decomposition, methane is a potent, heat-trapping gas that when left untapped, can pollute the air, soil, and groundwater. Piping gas from the landfill to power the hospital is now significantly reducing methane emissions and off-setting the use of non-renewable resources such as coal, natural gas, and oil. Since the hospital began using cogenerated power in 2008, more than 11,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided.

“We hope we can serve as a role model for other organizations throughout the country,” says Marian Regional Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Mark Allen. “This project demonstrates that environmental stewardship has immediate and long-term ecological benefits.”

This beneficial partnership aligns with the mission and values of Dignity Health, and Marian has long been recognized for environmental excellence and a commitment to sustainability. 

Nationwide, hospitals are faced with an unprecedented critical nursing shortage that is predicted to worsen. In order to diversify and grow the future nursing workforce, Dignity Health has partnered with Los Angeles-based Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU).

A 2021 American Association of Colleges of Nursing study found that, although interest in nursing programs is strong, 80,521 qualified applications were not accepted at schools of nursing due primarily to a shortage of clinical sites, faculty and resource constraints. The partnership will expand access to quality education and training by adding faculty and resources that help CDU, one of the nation’s leading educators of Black and other underrepresented minority nurses, grow its enrollment. CDU is one of the nation’s four historically Black medical schools.

“In addition to clinical excellence, our students are focused on social justice and health equity for underserved populations in our surrounding communities in South Los Angeles and around the world who are affected by health disparities,” said David M. Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer at CDU. “Expanding our program helps increase their impact and the likelihood that diverse patients have access to a provider who looks like them.”

Studies show that having access to a provider with shared lived experience helps improve trust and outcomes, yet only 22.2% of Black adults reported being of the same race as their health care provider compared to 73.8% of White adults. Dignity Health and CDU will establish mentorship programs for diverse high school students and build relationships with pre-college educators and guidance counselors to help ensure that students know their options and the prerequisite coursework necessary for a career in nursing.

“In our Southern California Division alone, we employ 10,000 nurses that care for over a million people every year,” said Julie J. Sprengel, President and CEO of Dignity Health’s Southern California Division. “Together with Charles R. Drew, we’re helping to remove systemic barriers and create a more diverse and dynamic workforce that reflects the communities we serve.”

In addition to expanding capacity at CDU, the partnership seeks to drive early interest in nursing careers among students from under-resourced or underrepresented groups. Dignity Health and CDU will establish mentorship programs for diverse high school students and build relationships with pre-college educators and guidance counselors to help ensure that students know their options and the prerequisite coursework necessary for a career in nursing.

“As one of the state’s leading providers of Medi-Cal services, this partnership is an extension of Dignity Health’s larger commitment to increasing culturally competent health care providers,” said Sprengel.