Elsie Taveras delivers the keynote address at the 2023 Equity, Justice, and Inclusion Lecture and Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration. Photo by Chris Soldt.
Boston is one of the healthiest cities in the United States, according to , the inaugural chief community health and health equity officer for Mass General Brigham. But the city is home to stark and persistent racial disparities in chronic health conditions and mortality rates, Taveras said at Boston College on February 6, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these inequities.聽
Black residents of Suffolk County, which comprises the cities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, had higher COVID mortality rates than their white counterparts, according to stats cited by Taveras. And Black mortality rates from non-COVID causes spiked in 2020, the height of the pandemic. But white mortality rates from non-COVID causes decreased over the same time period.聽
鈥淲hat COVID revealed were stark inequities and vulnerabilities in minority communities鈥攁s well as historic underinvestment in community health and structural racism that has led to tremendous disparities in health outcomes for some populations in Boston,鈥� said Taveras, who gave the keynote address at Boston College School of Social Work鈥檚 annual Equity, Justice, and Inclusion Lecture and Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration.
Her lecture鈥攄elivered to a live audience in 100 Gasson Hall and to a virtual audience on Zoom鈥攆ocused on MGB鈥檚 multi-million-dollar initiative to combat the impact that racism has had on patients, staff, and the wider community. The largest health system in Massachusetts launched 鈥溾�� in 2020 in response to civil unrest and protests against racist violence, aiming to eliminate disparities in patient care, create workforce equity, and improve community health.
鈥淲e had to take a deep look at how we as a health system were contributing to some of these inequities,鈥� said Taveras, 鈥渁nd start to think of what could we be doing differently to do our part in changing what has been an historic difference in health outcomes in the city of Boston.鈥�
Associate Professor Summer Hawkins, left, nominated Sarah B. Coughlin for the Distinguished Alumni Award. Photo by Chris Soldt.
After MGB launched the initiative, Taveras and her colleagues surveyed more than 1 million patients to better understand the population that they serve. They asked questions that zeroed in on their patients鈥� race, ethnicity, language, gender identity, and need for accommodations.聽
One of their biggest findings was that many patients lacked access to both the internet and software platforms used in digital care. So MGB provided patients with iPads, gave them access to the internet, and hired digital access coordinators to link patients with online services.聽
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 know enough about our patients, then we can鈥檛 create incredible programs that will lead to improving access for those patients,鈥� said Taveras, who also works as a pediatrician at Mass General Hospital.聽
The initiative鈥檚 work is focused on 21 clinics in MGB鈥檚 health system that serve a high percentage of patients who identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, Taveras said. 59,000 patients at these clinics have hypertension, according to a PowerPoint slide she showed during her talk, including 15,000 Black and Hispanic patients with high blood pressure.聽
Over the past 18 months, every patient at these clinics has completed an assessment of their social risk factors, which have been shown to play a major role in health. Patients with high blood pressure who have at least one social risk factor鈥攑erhaps they lack housing or have trouble paying for medicine鈥攈ave been matched with community health workers and behavioral health clinicians to help improve their physical and mental well-being. The early results have been good: Since February 2022, the percentage of Black and Hispanic patients who have their blood pressure under control has increased 3 percent.
Salem Professor in Global Practice Theresa Betancourt, left, nominated Ngozi Enelamah for the Distinguished Recent Alumni Award. Photo by Chris Soldt.
鈥淲e鈥檙e making the case that it鈥檚 not just important to treat hypertension with a statin, but that it鈥檚 just as important to treat hypertension with behavioral and mental health support and social risk mitigation,鈥� said Taveras. 鈥淪ome of the early findings of our model show that it works. That if you can support patients not just with the clinical services that they need, but help them mitigate their social risk factors, we鈥檙e able to show a return on investment on hypertension and blood pressure control.鈥�
She said the United Against Racism initiative is also working to address a profound mental health crisis, noting that rates of anxiety, depression, and substance use have spiked since COVID hit in the spring of 2020.聽
As part of a $25 million investment in community health initiatives and programs, MGB聽formed a partnership聽with 极速六合官方网址SSW in 2021 to improve the mental health of Latinx communities in Massachusetts. Last November, the health system gave the聽Latinx Leadership Initiative聽a $600,000 grant to develop the workforce of bilingual and bicultural social workers in the state. Four LLI students have already completed the program, which provides stipends and professional development to fellows as they work in community health settings that predominantly serve Latinx clients, and, going forward, the LLI and MGB will select at least 10 fellows each academic year.
鈥淣ot only do we have a mental health and behavioral health crisis, but we have a workforce crisis. We don鈥檛 have enough BIPOC social workers working hand in hand with our clinicians to tackle the crisis we are seeing,鈥� said Taveras. 鈥淢GB invested in community partners and educational institutions like 极速六合官方网址 to grow the behavioral health workforce across the Commonwealth and we couldn鈥檛 be happier with some of the work that鈥檚 happening across the 20-plus organizations we have funded. Some of this work has gone to support a very diverse workforce, including the LLI, which is developing social work leaders equipped to work with Black and Latinx communities.鈥�
In a Q&A following her talk, Taveras expanded on MGB鈥檚 partnership with the LLI, a cohort-based program that prepares bilingual and bicultural social workers to accompany Latinx communities in developing sustainable solutions to complex problems in health, education, housing, and other areas. She praised LLI Founding Director聽Roc铆o Calvo聽for working to embed students in community health clinics where clients might typically have limited access to social workers who speak their language.
鈥淲e need more of these programs that introduce our workforce to the settings where we are seeing the greatest health inequities,鈥� she told Assistant Professor聽Mar铆a Fernanda Pi帽eros-Lea帽o, who moderated the discussion. 鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly proud of the work happening here at the School of Social Work. I鈥檓 incredibly proud to be part of these partnerships and investments across the state to do our part in tackling that workforce crisis.鈥�
Karen Bullock, the Louise McMahon Ahearn Endowed Professor at 极速六合官方网址SSW, asks Taveras a question during the event. Photo by Chris Soldt.
As part of a video capping the event, alumni and community partners praised the LLI, which will celebrate its 10-year anniversary at the end of this academic year.
Dewin Hernandez, who graduated from the MSW/MBA dual degree program in 2021, acknowledged the LLI鈥檚 transformational impact on the social work field. 鈥淔or everything you have done, are doing, and will do, you have my deepest gratitude,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can not wait to see what the next 10 years will hold.鈥�
A representative from Casa Esperanza, a bilingual and bicultural behavioral health clinic that specializes in serving the Latinx community in Massachusetts, said it has been a privilege to work with students, faculty, and staff in the LLI. 鈥淭his unique program that is provided in the classrooms has made a tremendous difference in the work that we see with our population here at Casa Esperanza,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hank you for paving the way. We鈥檙e looking forward to many more years of collaboration with the LLI.鈥�
After Taveras鈥� talk, 极速六合官方网址SSW honored two alumni for their impressive contributions to the field of social work. The School celebrates two graduates at the event every year, bestowing one award upon an alum who earned an MSW or PhD 10 or more years ago and another award upon an alum who earned an advanced degree between five and 10 years ago.
From left to right: Roc铆o Calvo, Elsie Taveras, Mar铆a Fernanda Pi帽eros-Lea帽o, and 极速六合官方网址SSW Dean Gautam N. Yadama. Photo by Chris Soldt.
, MSW '07, who runs a private practice and works for the Center for Community Health Improvement at Massachusetts General Hospital, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. She said that Solution-Focused Therapy, taught by Associate Professor聽Susan Tohn, helped to shape her philosophy as a social worker.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 even think I knew at the time how influential this class would be as I started out my career,鈥� said Coughlin. 鈥淪he really challenged the notion that we needed as clinicians to focus on the problem of our clients, to focus on their trauma, to focus on their pain. She helped me understand the power of focusing on and tapping into human strength, the innate ability of clients to understand their own solutions, and the recognition that clients have all of the resources within themselves to heal, and that鈥檚 been the foundation of my clinical practice.鈥澛�
, MSW '18, PhD '20, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at the University of New Hampshire, received the Distinguished Recent Alumni Award. Enelamah, whose research focuses on designing interventions to address mental health disparities in mothers and children in sub-Saharan African, Black U.S.-born, immigrant, and refugee families, shared two lessons that she learned from her time at 极速六合官方网址: Work hard and go to events鈥攜ou never know who you鈥檒l meet, what you鈥檒l learn, or how your newfound knowledge could shape your career path.聽
鈥淥ne lesson was showing up to events such as this, where you meet one person or hear an idea that will help chart the course for your next move,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he other is hard work. The rigor of a program where you鈥檙e put to work鈥攖hat stays with you, and I鈥檝e carried that with me in my work.鈥澛�