1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health has been selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to be a member of the Regional Accountable Health Council (RAHC) for the Southwest Pennsylvania region. The RAHCs will be forums for strategic health planning across all entities in our health system to improve health outcomes throughout each region.
Efforts will be centered at the community level to address key health, health equity, and social determinants of health issues. The primary focus will be on demographic groups and geographic regions impacted by disparities (“health equity zones”). A RAHC will be formed within each PA region defined by the five Physical Health HealthChoices Zones: Southeast, Southwest, Northeast, Northwest, and Lehigh Capital.
“We’re thrilled to help represent the Southwest PA region as part of the Regional Accountable Health Council (RAHC) and work together alongside community partners to address health disparities and the social determinants of health in our region,” said Jeannine McMillan, Executive Director of the Community Care HUB with the 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health.
The core goals of the RAHCs are to:
• Promote health equity and eliminate health disparities;
• Identify and mitigate regional social determinant of health (SDOH) needs;
• Align value-based purchasing initiatives to achieve better care and better health at lower costs;
• Support and steer population health improvement processes, including regional efforts to advance the integration of physical and behavioral health care; and
• Center health improvement efforts in the communities where needs exist.
RAHCs will address health equity as a top priority and will use a collaborative regional approach to focus on communities with a high burden of disease and demographic groups with the highest health disparities. The RAHCs will work to identify the root causes of such disparities and will establish policies and interventions to reduce these disparities. RAHCs will use evidence-based practices to advance the delivery of effective and efficient high-quality health care to all populations, improve access to affordable high-quality health care, and provide more equitable health care by addressing systematic inequities, including any cultural or linguistic barriers.
To guide the development of population health planning, RAHCs will use state and community-based health assessments, regional SDOH needs assessments, and other significant health indicators. RAHCs will serve as a bridge to coordinate the existing infrastructure of MCOs (managed care organizations), health systems, and CBOs (community-based organizations).
An orientation meeting was held for all new RAHC members on February 9, 2021. To learn more about RAHCs in Pennsylvania, click here.