Enhancing Public Health Equity
Funding Initiative Expands Testing and Treatment
Chicago, Ill. AUGUST 30, 2024 – In a bid to fortify public health equity and combat the rising rates of syphilis, HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, CommonSpirit Health® has launched a groundbreaking initiative thanks to the $3.25 million in funding from the Emergency Department Syphilis/HIV/HCV Screening Program (EDSP). Seven CommonSpirit hospital emergency departments were among 28 California hospitals to receive EDSP funding from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the Public Health Institute’s Bridge Center.
“Our goal in implementing these testing programs in our facilities is to foster health equity by increasing access to screening and treatment,” says Tashema Woods-Roberts, the program activities coordinator at CommonSpirit. “By leveraging over $3 million in private funding and now $3.25 million in EDSP funding, CommonSpirit is not only expanding this programming into additional emergency departments within our system, but also enhancing our existing programs.”
EDSP’s goals include furthering public health equity by implementing and expanding routine opt-out testing programs for syphilis, HIV and HCV infections within emergency departments. The CommonSpirit emergency department screening strategy has exhibited remarkable efficacy in advancing health equity by swiftly identifying infections, facilitating immediate treatment, connecting individuals to essential care and curtailing transmission rates. The initiative involves the deployment of patient navigators who will play a pivotal role in linking patients diagnosed with positive test results to available treatment options and essential services.
Woods-Roberts, who is responsible for orchestrating the various components of this initiative, and ensuring its seamless operation and efficacy, says this program can have a tremendous impact for CommonSpirit patients.
“Screening and diagnosis are important, however, the critical element of this programming really is the linkage to care provided by patient navigators. Supporting patients as they move through the health care continuum, helping to eliminate barriers to treatment and empowering patients through education to advocate for their health and wellness moving forward.”
Spanning a period of 30 months, from October 30, 2023, to April 30, 2026, the initiative seeks to reduce morbidity and mortality statewide through routine testing, treatment and linkage to care.
Highlighting the pressing need for such interventions, recent statistics underscore the gravity of the situation. In 2020, California reported the sixth-highest rate of congenital syphilis in the nation, with a staggering 107 cases per 100,000 live births, marking an 11-fold increase from the previous decade1. Moreover, the state recorded 136,091 individuals living with HIV in 2021, with 4,399 new diagnoses, roughly accounting for 411 new cases per 100,000 residents2. Alarmingly, studies indicate that a significant portion of annual HIV infections stem from individuals unaware of their status, emphasizing the urgency for widespread and accessible testing3.
Through funding from CDPH and the Bridge Center, EDSP aims to reverse these troubling trends by leveraging emergency departments as low-barrier access points for early detection, immediate treatment and effective linkage to care services.
By bolstering these proactive measures and interventions, the EDSP funding endeavors to make significant strides in not only mitigating the spread of these infections but also in championing health equity for all Californians.
Funding like this, combined with private philanthropic support, are instrumental in advancing CommonSpirit’s mission.
CommonSpirit Health has 80-plus fundraising entities located across the U.S. Over the past five years, these foundations have raised a combined $1.3 billion to ensure that it can continue to serve the vulnerable and build healthy communities. The organization does this nationally through CommonSpirit Health Foundation, and locally through its network of regional and community-based fundraising entities.
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[1] CalMatters. "Congenital Syphilis in California." 2022, https://calmatters.org/health/2022/10/congenital-syphilis/.
[2] AIDSVu. "Local HIV Data - California." https://aidsvu.org/local-data/united-states/west/california/.
[3] Brown, B., Marg, L., LeComte-Hinely, J., Brinkman, D., Zhang, Z., & Sullivan, G. (2018). Indicators of self-reported human immunodeficiency virus risk and differences in willingness to get tested by age and ethnicity: An observational study. Medicine, 97(31), e11690. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000011690
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