The Woods System of Care, in partnership with Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health System, Rutgers University Behavioral Healthcare Services, and Allies, is working to improve health equity for people with disabilities by creating and implementing a standardized training curriculum for healthcare providers.
The project came to fruition after Woods received the Inclusive Healthy Communities (IHC) grant funded by the New Jersey Division of Disabilities Services. One of the goals of the grant project is to create and implement a universal framework for “disability-friendly healthcare” that will help healthcare providers interact with and care for people with disabilities. In addition, the grant project will result in the creation of standardized training for healthcare professionals. All of these efforts are completely aligned with the mission of Woods System of Care and its affiliates to improve access to and quality of care for the people they serve. Woods formed a compensated Advisory Council whose members are people with different kinds of disabilities who shared their healthcare experiences and discussed what they thought training should focus on. Many healthcare providers, individuals with disabilities, and family caregivers were also interviewed to provide input.
The common themes identified through the project include a lack of accessibility in general the definition of “health equity,” and the way that providers communicate with people with disabilities. These topics are broad, but many interviewees and advisory council participants mentioned the physical inaccessibility of many offices of healthcare providers and discrimination and bias from healthcare professionals as major hurdles.
The two-year grant was awarded in July 2023. Throughout 2024, Woods worked alongside Robert Wood Johnson Health System, Rutgers, and Allies to convene an advisory council made up of members with a wide range of disabilities, including physical disabilities and intellectual or developmental disabilities.
“Allies is proud to be able to support this partnership between Woods and other regional healthcare systems,” Mike Haggerty, CEO of Allies, said. “Ensuring everyone has equitable access to quality healthcare is just one piece of the puzzle, and we are grateful to be able to have a role in this project.”
The advisory council, including several individuals supported by Allies, met several times throughout spring of 2024 before breaking for the summer months. During that time, investigators conducted 30 interviews with stakeholders to get more background and context surrounding issues discussed during the advisory council sessions. Once the additional interviews were conducted and analyzed, the workgroup brought the main themes before the advisory council.
Next, the project team will work to develop and deliver the trainings to healthcare providers in and around the Hamilton, New Jersey, geographic region and throughout the state.
“We envision this effort continuing after the grant period ends, as we will continue to share our expertise and the learnings from the Advisory Council members and other stakeholders with others,” Liz Hayden, MPH, MS.Ed, the vice president of strategy development at the Woods System of Care, said.
