On Wednesday, May 3, 2023, Lynn Community Health Center’s Chief Behavioral Health Officer Dr. Carlos F. Cappas joined his Health Equity Compact colleagues to facilitate an important discussion around health disparities post-COVID during a North of Boston Forum. The hosts of the event included the Health Equity Compact, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Lynn Community Health Center, Lowell Community Health Center, and Lawrence General Hospital.
The event was open to the public.
This event, called “Closing the Health Equity Gap”, offered facilitated discussions in English and Spanish around how health and health care disparities have been documented for decades, however, people of color continue to be underserved within the healthcare system. The conversation highlighted the reality of COVID-19’s impact on communities of color, and how this impact has elevated the need to break down barriers and build opportunities for everyone to reach their full health potential.
The second half of the forum introduced the Compact’s priority legislation to attendees, “An Act to Advance Health Equity.” This proposed legislation will advance health equity in the Commonwealth through prioritizing health equity in state government, standardizing and reporting on health equity data, and improving access to and quality of care.
As we have for the past 50 years, we at Lynn Community Health Center remain deeply committed to ensuring health equity now to our current patients and community, and also to designing intentional, inclusive systems for the future to ensure equitable access to all.
Learn more about our past work below, and learn how we are designing healthcare equity for the future in our approach to Value Based Care!