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Descripción del proyecto: El equipo de EQT By Designs, en asociación con el Instituto de Salud Poblacional de Wisconsin (Wisconsin Population Health Institute), busca prototipar un modelo de empleo de Embajadores Vecinales a través de un proyecto enfocado en recopilar datos sobre desigualdades de salud. Este proyecto, en asociación con PHI (Poblacional de Wisconsin), amplificará las voces de aquellos más afectados por las desigualdades de salud encuestando el sur de Madison. El enfoque en el sur de Madison hace que su organización sea única en su capacidad para conocer a posibles embajadores comunitarios. Este proyecto comenzaría el 1 de junio de 2023 y se extendería hasta el 31 de agosto, con la posibilidad de extenderse hasta septiembre de 2023. Los embajadores comunitarios visitarán hogares en el área, enfocándose en propiedades de alquiler, hogares multifamiliares y la comunidad de casas móviles, además de asistir a eventos organizados por organizaciones locales, centros de fe y comunidades de atención a personas mayores. La primera fase de visitas a hogares implicará hablar con personas en el vecindario, dejar volantes y hacerles saber que estarán tocando las puertas para pedir opiniones a cambio de un gesto de agradecimiento. La segunda fase implica la recolección de datos en persona puerta por puerta y en eventos. Los embajadores trabajarán con un coordinador de equipo en UW que rastreará los incentivos distribuidos a los participantes del estudio, las actividades generales de recolección de datos y monitorea el almacenamiento de datos. Los embajadores comunitarios tendrán una compensación justa (ver descripción LTE a continuación para más detalles) por su trabajo. Para EQT, esto servirá como prueba de concepto de los beneficios de reclutar y compensar a los embajadores comunitarios para ayudar en proyectos que involucren un compromiso comunitario profundo. Creemos que esto no solo profundizará el compromiso comunitario, sino que también construirá la comunidad y elevará las voces de la comunidad en proyectos y programas que afecten a sus comunidades. Perfil del embajador: Residente(s) del sur de Madison preferido/ideal, o alguien con conexiones profundas con la comunidad del sur de Madison. Demográficos o expectativas de representación de personas negras, indígenas y/o personas de color. ( multilingüe, inquilino, propietario, personas mayores, tiempo y disponibilidad (noche/fines de semana). Los embajadores deben comprender el ritmo y los patrones de dónde residen, viven y pasan tiempo los miembros de la comunidad. Conexiones comunitarias dentro del sur de Madison, preferiblemente actualmente residiendo dentro del sur de Madison. Descripción del puesto de embajador comunitario Empleo de plazo limitado: Cuatro posiciones abiertas En coordinación con la Iniciativa de Salud Pública (PHI), estamos trabajando en esfuerzos de construcción de poder comunitario a nivel local al amplificar las voces de aquellos más afectados por las desigualdades de salud. Este proyecto se enfocará en el sur de Madison y para ayudar en esto, estamos contratando a cuatro (4) "Embajadores Comunitarios" a tiempo parcial y de plazo limitado (LTE). Objetivo y propósito de este puesto: Estar disponible y visible cuando los miembros de la comunidad están libres es vital para la estrategia de alcance. Los embajadores deberán planificar en consecuencia en términos de pensar en la hora del día, la semana y el fin de semana para garantizar el éxito del alcance y el cumplimiento de los objetivos que se describen a continuación. Plazo de empleo: 1 de junio - 31 de agosto, con la posibilidad de extenderse hasta septiembre de 2023. Salario por hora: $25/hora Horas por semana: 8-10 horas/semana Enlace de solicitud: Solicitud de Embajador Comunitario del Sur de EQT Deberes: Visitar hogares en el área de estudio, enfocándose en propiedades de alquiler, hogares multifamiliares y la comunidad de casas móviles del sur de Madison. Asistir a eventos organizados por organizaciones locales, centros de fe y comunidades de atención a personas mayores. Expectativas del puesto: Las visitas a hogares implicarán hablar con personas en el vecindario, dejar volantes y hacerles saber que estarán llamando a sus puertas para pedir opiniones a cambio de un gesto de agradecimiento. Recolección de datos en persona puerta por puerta y en eventos. Alcance y participación: los embajadores deberán asegurarse de estar disponibles como miembros de la comunidad. Número de personas involucradas: más de 200 personas de comunidades históricamente marginadas y desfavorecidas en el sur de Madison. Se proporcionarán cualquier suministro, como chalecos de seguridad, tabletas de recolección de datos con estuches y materiales de alcance. Lo que un candidato aporta: Los embajadores deberán comprender el ritmo y las tendencias de dónde residen, viven y pasan tiempo los miembros de la comunidad. Conexiones comunitarias dentro del sur de Madison, preferiblemente actualmente residiendo dentro del sur de Madison. Conocimientos de idiomas en español o hmong son una ventaja. Expectativas del horario de trabajo: Horario de trabajo flexible; trabajaremos con los embajadores comunitarios para personalizar su horario de trabajo mientras se cumplen los objetivos del programa. Estar en la area durante la hora del día y los días de la semana cuando los miembros de la comunidad están activos y disponibles libremente. Esto incluirá noches y fines de semana. Disponible para entrenamiento y trabajo en equipo durante las últimas dos semanas de mayo para tres reuniones de 2 horas.

Saving Our Babies Initiative Showing Promising Impact on Improving birth outcomes for Black women and birthing people in Dane County Dane County Health Council and Partners Celebrate First Anniversary of ConnectRx Wisconsin Saving Our Babies Initiative Showing Promising Impact on Improving birth outcomes for Black women and birthing people in Dane County MADISON, Wis. – The Dane County Health Council (DCHC) and the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (FFBWW) are celebrating the one year anniversary of the ConnectRx Wisconsin program, a central component of the Saving Our Babies Initiative and its strategies to improve Black birth outcomes in Dane County. The Saving Our Babies Initiative coalesced in 2018 as a result of the Dane County Health Council and partners joining forces in response to a 2017 community health needs assessment confirming that maternal and child health is one of Dane County and Wisconsin’s most pressing and persistent health concerns. Recent reports indicate that Dane County continues to have one of the worst Black infant mortality rates in the United States, accompanied by significant racial disparities in household income and a growing life expectancy gap between Black and white women. As documented in the Saving Our Babies Report, at the root of these disparities is the stress caused by economic insecurity, racism and bias in the daily experiences of Black women and their families, and disconnected and difficult to navigate community services. Launched in April 2022 by the DCHC, FFBWW and partners, ConnectRx Wisconsin is a care coordination system designed to address these challenges at their root. The aim of the program is to reduce low birth weights for babies born to Black mothers by meeting the clinical and non-clinical needs of expectant mothers and their families. ConnectRx Wisconsin specifically supports Black pregnant women and birthing persons through a wrap-around service delivery model that connects both clinical and trusted non-clinical community providers who work together to support patients' health, social, economic, mental health, and other resource needs. A clinic and community-based workforce of Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Doulas provides additional assistance to highest risk patients, ensuring they are supported throughout their pregnancy and postpartum. All Black pregnant women and birthing persons served by local hospitals and clinics are screened for social determinants of health. If a patient screens positive in one of the following social determinants of health—financial resource strain, food insecurity, housing stability, stress, or transportation—and they consent, a referral is made to ConnectRx Wisconsin. In addition, through the electronic health record, a curated list of resources pulled from United Way of Dane County’s 211 is provided to the patient. Since its launch, more than 400 Black women have been screened and referred to ConnectRx Wisconsin, connected to a vast network of community-based partner agencies and programs providing family-stabilizing resources and services. With an estimate of roughly 600 births by Black mothers or birthing persons each year in Dane County, these referral numbers clearly show the need and uptake. Early results also indicate that Black women patients participating in ConnectRx Wisconsin are experiencing fewer C-sections, more full term births, and higher infant birth weights as a result of doula assisted births and deeper partnerships between clinical providers, patients and the community workforce that make up the wrap-around service model. “We are encouraged by the early indicators of improvement we are seeing in the birthing experiences among Black women participating in ConnectRx,” said Kyle Nondorf, President of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison and one of the DCHC partner organizations. “Though we have much more to learn from our formal evaluation efforts, we are seeing evidence that our efforts are translating into a new standard of care for Black women and birthing people.” Nondorf and others contribute these early signs of success to the unprecedented collaboration that the Saving Our Babies Initiative has enabled across its many partners to align priorities, share leadership, and to co-design community-informed solutions. The initiative continues to grow community capacity to address Black birth disparities by building and bridging critical clinical and community infrastructure for a unique and integrated care coordination approach. In the community, ConnectRx Wisconsin participants are supported by FFBWW, which manages the initiative's doula provider network and provides additional out-of-clinic CHW support. The Black Maternal Child Health Alliance (BMCHA) sits on the Health Council, informing the effort and providing broad leadership and advocacy locally and statewide. An additional network of trusted community based organizations and service providers are embedded in ConnectRx Wisconsin’s wrap-around support, accepting referrals to assist patients with housing, mental health, transportation, employment, and other critical family-stabilizing needs. “What we’ve known all along and are demonstrating in these efforts is that viable, systemic solutions for Black women and communities must be co-built and co-led by Black women and communities,” said Lisa Peyton-Caire, CEO and President of the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness. “We’re showing that innovation and real change in disrupting stagnant health and birth disparities emerge when systems listen to, partner with, and invest in community capacity. It works.” Peyton-Caire and Annette Miller, president of EQT By Design, a co-partner on the project, say that ConnectRx Wisconsin is leveraging partner strengths and paving the way for Dane County to become a ‘center of excellence’ for Black Maternal and Child Health. Black women and families are being centered in the work. Health systems are embedding deeper training and education for its leadership and staff to improve care delivery to Black women and birthing persons. Community-based organizations are connecting patients to local resources in tandem with CHW’s and Doulas. The collaboration between health systems and community partners is bridging previously disconnected systems, forming a safety net for those most impacted by inequitable health outcomes in the Dane County community. “To see our collective efforts materialize this way in concert with Black women and community is confirmation that partnership is the answer,” said Renee Moe, President and CEO of the United Way of Dane County which has been a member of the Dane County Health Council for more than 20 years. “We are demonstrating the power of collaboration and collective impact in helping solve one of our community’s greatest and most pervasive challenges.” As their work continues, the DCHC and partners understand the urgency of sustaining efforts for the long haul. Post pandemic data show that COVID-19 was likely a key driver of the more than 60% increase in deaths from pregnancy from 2019 to 2021. Black women and birthing people continue to face the biggest threats and now experience the highest mortality rates in recent memory; 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births. “The pandemic has and likely will continue to disproportionately impact Black birthing people and their families,” said Dr. Tiffany Green, co-chair of the Black Maternal and Child Health Alliance of Dane County and associate professor of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Green, a health economist and nationally recognized expert on reproductive health equity, says continuing to center Black women, birthing people and babies is critical to mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy- and birth-related outcomes. “This is not the time to drop our guard. Healthcare systems and providers must continue to protect the most vulnerable by holding themselves accountable to the communities they serve,” she said. Ariel Robbins, Project Director for the Dane County Health Council, says initiative partners are encouraged by the positive early impacts that the Saving Our Babies Initiative and ConnectRx Wisconsin are yielding, but that there is much more to do to strengthen the work and to ensure its sustainability for the long haul. “We’re committed to doing our part to eliminate racial birth disparities in our community, but it will take a collective effort from all sectors and corners of our community to make it happen. The problem wasn’t created in a day, and it will not be solved tomorrow. But with the support and investment of everyone and every sector – from business, philanthropy, to economic development, housing, and policy – we have a fighting chance to save our babies.” – – The Dane County Health Council is a coalition of healthcare providers, government and nonprofits with a mission to eliminate gaps and barriers to optimal health and reduce disparities in health outcomes in Dane County. Council members include Access Community Health Centers, Black Maternal and Child Health Alliance, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin, Madison Metropolitan School District, Public Health Madison & Dane County, SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital, United Way of Dane County, UnityPoint Health – Meriter and UW Health. -- The Foundation for Black Women's Wellness Lisa M. Peyton, MSEd, Founding CEO & President

It is officially spring, and we’re casting off the last throes of winter. We hope you’ve been finding ways to continue building community, and EQT By Design is excited to bring you some of the ways we’ve been doing that this spring. Be part of the EQT Southside Street team! Are you looking for skill and community-building opportunities? Would you like to join a group of people who will support you, listen, and want something where you can earn a little this summer that is more than a job when? Then sign-up and help us build community this summer in Madison's Southside. complete the Street Team Interest Form by clicking here Are you a person of color who lives in the Southside of Madison? Are you, comfortable knocking on doors and going to community events, and talking with people? We’re actively looking for Southside Madison paid EQT Street team: These will be people with strong community connections with the Southside. This is a limited-term opportunity that provides a flexible schedule, including nights and weekends, where you'll do one or more of the following Organize small focus groups; Distribute surveys; Recruit for community meetings; Knock on doors in your community; In return, EQT will provide fair financial incentives for your work, as well as skill-building support for meeting facilitation, community engagement, and more. Skills you'll learn Group facilitation Meeting facilitation Data interpretation Community engagement and organizing and more If this sounds like you, please If this sounds like you, please complete the EQT Street Team Interest Form by clicking here and a member of our Community Engagement team will be in touch! This spring has been one of grounding ourselves, reviewing, and building our base for the future. We’re excited to share some of what we have been up to. John Nolen Drive Redevelopment: John Nolen Drive is one of the main entryways into the City of Madison, but it’s also a main road for many Madasonians to access work, education, and other important opportunities to uplift their families and communities. To ensure this, we engaged with the YWCA and Latino Workforce Academy and their populations to get their stamp on the proposed designs. Sun Prairie: We’re wrapping up an important engagement in Sun Prairie. Sun Prairie is an increasingly diverse city, and city leaders taking active measures to make sure equity is a part of their growth. They’re doing this through their active transportation plan, to ensure diverse populations maintain and gain more access to all the resources the growing town has to offer. And in doing so are increasing pedestrian safety, access to bike paths, and more. The Triangle Community Redevelopment: We’re loving the community we’ve built with Triangle residents, and as the project moves into its pre-building phase we want to continue to engage the community. Because of this, we’re working with the Trangle community and our Triangle community-based partners to hold a block party for community residents. We can’t wait to bring to you all the amazing things coming from this project once building commences. How we do Our Work We had a wonderful opportunity to interview with a PHD student about how we do our work, and we are excited to share a bit of it with you all. What does the “equity-centered engagement, strategic planning, change management and organizational culture” that EQT does actually mean? EQT works with organizations to start deconstructing processes and practices responsible for creating inequities within organizations and systems. Through collaborative design with their clients, EQT creates safe spaces where they actively listen to diverse voices to learn about concerns, issues, challenges and needs within and outside the organizations they work with. The goal is to create inclusive processes and people-centered decision-making. How does EQT’s outreach work help people start to “unlearn”? EQT focuses on bringing marginalized voices to the center of the conversations happening now. This provides projects, companies and organizations a more equitable perspective while at the same time providing guidance and educational services to transform attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge around equity and inclusion. How does EQT actually DO the work, though? EQT starts with the foundation that we are in a “co-creation” space. That means our clients are central to the planning and development process of the work we’re doing. Not only will they need to invest support and time, but they need to come to the table with a strategic plan before any transformation can occur. We are very upfront that there are certain expectations for all involved, including the fact that they must continually show up with intention and will, offer best practices and insights and consultation, and go as far as they think they want to go to make a change. What’s the result of EQT By Design outreach work? EQT's vision focuses on changing culture to be more inclusive and equitable, centering the community’s voice, and conducting cross-cultural conversations with stakeholders. The EQT team aims to help bridge the discomfort often experienced with a transformative education. What does EQT’s philosophy to inform, engage, disrupt, and facilitate action centered around equity and justice to connect and bridge diverse community members’ perspectives mean? Using an equity lens means including diverse voices and perspectives and slowing down processes to inform, engage, and work with grassroots members to create networks. We focus on policies and systems because once the EQT team leaves the room, those systems will be in place and must reflect the work. It’s our goal to help build groups within communities that identify common problems and that work together to solve them. We want to shout out to Shar-Ron Buie, one of Dane County's impactful Black leaders in his new, well-deserved position, serving as JustDane's Associate Director. From JustDane's announcement: "Shar-Ron has been with JustDane as our Reentry Health Navigator since 2021 and has an impressive resume of education and experience. In his role as Associate Director, Shar-Ron will provide program oversight, and work on strategic visioning, program development, strategic partnerships and collaborations. Shar-Ron has lived experience with the justice system and is eager to bring his insights, skills and education to the position. Please join us in congratulating Shar-Ron on his promotion to Associate Director." JustDane is an EQT By Design partner and a valued organization providing direct services to individuals and families involved in the criminal justice system. If you want to learn more about JustDane and how to support their work, click here. We have some exciting projects we’re working on in 2023, some of which are a bit too early to bring out to the public. There is one we’re particularly excited to get underway, one that we hope strengthens our connection and engagement with our many diverse communities, and we hope to be able to tell you about it. When? Soon! To wrap up this month's newsletter, celebrate six years with us! We’re six years old this month, and we can’t thank you, our community, enough for building and growing with us. Here’s to another year of blessings, we hope you receive as many as we do.