Community Partnerships That Can Advance Health Equity
Desiree de la Torre, Director of Community Affairs and Population Health at Children’s National Hospital, and Fernando Little, Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Atrium Health, discuss what their Health systems are doing to advance health equity beyond their four walls. Our conversation is focused on the strategic and the collaborative efforts between their organizations and the community stakeholders. Their effort to create a connection between community clinics, schools and local small businesses is demonstrated not only in the context of advancing health equity, but also the economic impact on the communities they serve. Their expertise highlights the many ways community outreach efforts and measuring the impact of those efforts in health outcomes and the social determinants of health is such an important part of the health equity journey.
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About Our Guests
Desiree de la Torre, MPH, MBA
Director of Community Affairs and Population Health Improvement for Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Desiree leads the organization’s community health improvement strategic planning process, including partnerships with community organizations, resources to address health disparities, and compliance with federal and local community benefit regulations. She is responsible for the development of new models of care that improve health equity and impact the social determinants of health. This includes multi-sector collaborations with community organizations, schools, government agencies, and payors. Desiree is a member of several local and national councils and associations, including the Chair of the Commission on Health for Montgomery County, Maryland. She is a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a program that serves as a catalyst for a diverse network of leaders brought together to collaborate and make a difference in the world as they learn about leadership through the lens of the presidential experiences.
More About Ms. de la Torre
Fernando G. Little, MSL
Vice President & Chief Diversity Officer at Atrium Health
Fernando G. Little, MSL joined Atrium Health in 2002 and has served in a variety of key leadership roles including interim Chief Diversity Officer and most recently as Senior Human Resources Strategic Business Partner. He has led several engagement strategic action plans that resulted in statistically significant improvements at multiple facilities at Atrium Health and Mission Health. From a health equity perspective, he helped design and implement Atrium Health’s first health disparities dashboard, which the organization uses to identify health equity priorities. Fernando leads broad, collaborative efforts throughout Atrium Health’s operations and academic programs to foster diversity, equity, inclusion, culturally competent care, inclusive purchasing, language access, and health equity for diverse and underserved populations. He also develops, implements and monitors programs and processes that sustain Atrium Health’s inclusive organizational culture.
More about Mr. Little
