…[E]xperience has taught us that action in the now is also necessary, always
A Look Back
Innovation, Reflection, and Sustainability: In Pursuit of Health Equity
AHE’s 2024 Fall Convening –Innovation, Reflection, and Sustainability: In Pursuit of Health Equity was conceived with the understanding that we can accomplish so much more when we dream, think, and plan together. This year’s convening, held in Chicago’s vibrant South Loop neighborhood, brought together representatives from nearly every one of AHE’s Learning Collaborative (LC) teams, as well as members of our National Advisory Committee.
Following feedback from the 2023 Convening, AHE designed this year’s event with ample opportunities for participants to connect with one another and discuss their work, formally and informally. From the after-hours Coffee Chat where attendees discussed what they believed was the next big moment in U.S. health care, to workshops on partnering effectively with communities and how to move away from allyship toward co-conspiratorship, the Convening was a space of co-learning and collaboration.
In keeping with AHE’s goal of offering hands-on moments for collaborative learning, participants worked together to create an elevator pitch describing their project, discussed tangible ways to meaningfully work in partnership with patients and their families, and participated in a poster session where they detailed their care delivery transformations. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the posters each LC team created.
The power of the collective was also a major focus of this year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Rachel Hardeman. Dr. Hardeman’s work on reproductive justice is a testament to how the collective can encourage lasting changes in health equity. She implored attendees to think critically about how to undo what she called “the hidden curricula of race” that manifests in clinical algorithms among other places. Scroll down to see this year’s agenda and learn more about event sessions.
It is AHE’s belief that we can’t create, ideate, or change the status quo if we’re exhausted. We believe that encouraging Convening attendees to check in on friends and family, take a walk around our beautiful city of Chicago, or maybe even take a nap during an extended break was the best approach to helping people bring their best and brightest ideas to sessions.
The 2024 Fall Convening was an opportunity to celebrate wins, connect with peers, foster new relationships, and inspire possibilities for advancing health equity. We are grateful for the time we had together and excited about what the future holds.
Being part of the team for Advancing Health Equity, it’s been amazing. They have really supported us with different resources [and have] given us tools and tips…making sure that we can move forward in the most effective way.
~ Maine LC Participant
2024 Fall Convening Agenda
Throughout the Convening, attendees:
- Built relationships via networking sessions and working side-by-side within and across Learning Collaborative teams;
- Learned from each other via workshops and a poster session-gallery walk featuring all of the Learning Collaborative teams participating in the Convening;
- Reflected on accomplishments and considered their next steps related to team- specific care delivery transformation, payment reform, and partnerships with patients and communities; and
- Continued to build a culture of equity and antiracism in all aspects of our time together.
What [AHE] brings to the table is amazing. I just know that they are continuing to help organizations do good work,and make some very life-changing efforts in people’s lives. In this climate of work that we do, it is very refreshing to receive the guidance and the feedback, and to hear about other teams’ experiences. ~ Illinois LC Participant
Resources & Highlighted Publications
- Let’s Talk About Power
- AHE’s Health Equity Communication Guide
- Engaging Emergent Strategies in Facilitating Multi-Stakeholder Health Equity Collaboration
- Opportunities for Psychologists to Advance Health Equity: Using Liberation Psychology to Identify Key Lessons From 17 Years of Praxis
- What Should Antiracist Payment Reform Look Like?