Hospitals do a lot for their patients, but what about others in the community? The Boston Medical Center has made it it’s mission to provide healthcare to everyone despite ability to pay; furthermore, the Health Equity Accelerator to transform the landscape of health equity within the Boston community.

Led by Dr. Elena Mendez-Escobar and Dr. Thea James, the Health Equity Accelerator focuses its resources on maternal and child health, infectious diseases, behavioral health, chronic conditions, oncology, and end-stage renal disease through reaching those who otherwise would not receive as equitable care. In this episode, learn more about what the program is, what hospitals can do to help their communities, and a lot more about health equity! 

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1. What are your roles within BMC? What do you do on a day to day basis?
   
2. What does preventive medicine mean to you?
   
3. How did the health equity accelerator come about? What does it do?
   
4. Do you believe that hospitals have an obligation to their communities in reaching “hard to reach” patients?
   
5. Given some of the deep origins of health inequities, how can hospitals and hospital initiatives make quantitative change within the community such that the stats actually change?
   
6. Where does the money come for programs such as the health equity accelerator given the capitalistic and profit-driven nature of many hospitals?
   
7. How can the health equity accelerator be replicated in other cities? What are the barriers to more widespread adoption?
   
8. For those from a lower socioeconomic status – if someone were to ask you “How do I get healthy” while you were waiting for your coffee, what do you tell them in 2 minutes?
   

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