In September 2006, the Consumer Health Foundation released Speaking Up and Speaking Out for Health: A Community Call to Action to Improve Health and Health Care in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Region. The report, which draws its conclusions from five Washington area Community Health Speakout events held in 2004 and 2005, is the first to gather solutions to the region’s healthcare crisis directly from community members.

The six recommendations for regional action are:

1.    Develop a blueprint for a regional specialty care delivery network for the uninsured.

2.      Create a personalized, one-stop, regional health information and referral center that will connect consumers to existing resources and services and empower them to demand high quality, affordable health care.

 
3.      Invest in programs that seek to build a more diverse healthcare workforce.

 
4.      Launch a regional community health data project, beginning with information on health status and disparities.

 5.      Engage in community-wide health equality dialogues that address racial and ethnic health disparities, particularly the impact of structural racism on the health and well-being of communities of color in the region.

6.     Designate neighborhood Wellness Opportunity Zones where incentives are provided for innovative connections between and among all public and private policies, programs and practices affecting health and well-being.  

Please click on each recommendation to chart our progress.

Within our mission, our work centers on reducing the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities that exist in accessing health care and health outcomes.

We will support consumers in their efforts to take control of their own health and participate in all levels of health care decisions. To achieve this, we will integrate consumer voices, interests, and needs into our work.