Equity Commitment
Core to our mission and vision, CIVHC prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion principles throughout our work. Through our health equity and data-driven initiatives, we address racial and socio-economic disparities that fuel health inequities. By integrating data equity principles into our analyses and support services, we’re fostering a health care system that is accessible, culturally competent, and works for everyone.
CIVHC’s Commitment to Addressing Racism, Social Injustice and Health Inequities
We recognize that at all levels of engagement we can and must do more to fight racism, social injustice, and inequality in the health care system and beyond. We look forward to joining with the many other organizations and individuals in the Colorado and national health care communities who are equally ready for action and determined to alter the status quo.
To learn more about our work, please read the information below.
- We commit to educating ourselves on the impacts of structural racism and social injustice, acknowledging how we can improve, and facing uncomfortable situations with integrity and patience.
- We commit to working toward diversifying our staff, board, and committees, creating a culture of diversity and inclusivity with an intention to understand all viewpoints and reduce biases.
- We commit to continue to geocode the CO APCD and to enable analysis of the impact of social factors including race, ethnicity, income level, education, housing, and transportation on health care access and outcomes to improve health equity.
- We commit to continuing to improve required data submission fields that identify race, ethnicity and language preference to improve visibility and understanding of the racial and social inequities inherent in the health care system.
- We commit to seeking new and strengthening existing partnerships with organizations representing and led by people of color and other diverse perspectives, specifically organizations with a focus on increasing equity in health and health care.
- We commit to actively participating in these partnerships to amplify the voices of those seeking to create a culture of equality and positive change, and to support their work in the community.
Internal Equity Strategies
As part of our commitment to identify and implement strategies that foster an inclusive organizational culture, our JEDI committee consists of a diverse group of individuals that meet regularly to set goals and measure progress.
We commit to working toward diversifying our staff, board, and committees, creating a culture of diversity and inclusivity with an intention to understand all viewpoints and reduce biases.
Read: New Faces, New Ideas: Celebrating CIVHC’s Evolving Board of Directors
CIVHC’s Inclusive Language Committee publishes monthly toolkits providing resources for staff to recognize and celebrate different cultural heritage months and holidays. In the spirit of transparency, these toolkits will be shared here for public use.
- Disability Pride Month (published July 2024)
- LGBTQIA + Pride Month (published June 2024)
- AANHPI & Jewish American Heritage (published May 2024)
- Arab American Heritage Month (published April 2024)
- Women’s History Month (published March 2024)
- Black History Month (published February 2024)
Advancing Health Equity Through Data
Geocoding the CO APCD
In 2021, CIVHC geocoded the CO APCD – one of the few to do so among APCDs –which is the process of tagging each person and provider represented in the CO APCD with latitude and longitude coordinates. This allows analysts to link member and provider addresses to the data sources at different geography levels, including census tract level. Geocoding significantly enhances CIVHC’s ability to incorporate demographic and socioeconomic information into reporting and provide a more highly detailed, precise geographic analysis.
- Learn More: Geocoding the CO APCD and Health Equity Analytics
- Read Putting Health Care Data on the Map: Advancing Health Care Equity Through Enhanced Geographic Context in Health Care Administrative Datasets, a white paper published by CIVHC and the Human Services Research Institute exploring how geocoding can enhance analyses seeking to address health equity
CIVHC’s Data Equity Principles establish our commitment to obtaining, using, and presenting data in the context of systemic drivers of inequitable health outcomes.
The following analyses released by CIVHC investigate racial and socio-economic disparities that contribute to health inequity and inform on the existing demographics within the CO APCD.
- Health Equity Analysis (Released 2022) – Shows the relationship between key social factors and access and use of health care services that can impact a person’s health.
- Telehealth Equity Analysis (Released 2023) – Investigates the relationship between social determinants, such as transportation, and telehealth usage at the neighborhood level.
- Use of Z Codes in the CO APCD* (Released 2024) – Understand the volume of members with recorded Z codes to identify health-related social needs in the CO APCD from 2016-2022.
- Race & Ethnicity in the CO APCD* (Released 2024) – Provides a snapshot of race and ethnicity information that payers submit to the CO APCD for individual members.
Read: Race, Ethnicity, and Demographic Data in the CO APCD
*These links will take the user to a brief Google Doc form to request access to these analyses. When the form is completed, CIVHC will send an Excel sheet with the data within two business days.
The Health Equity Fund
In 2024, CIVHC and the Colorado Health Foundation launched the Health Equity Fund, an initiative dedicated to advancing health equity across Colorado. The fund provides $1 million over four years (up to $250,000 annually) in support to help community-based nonprofit organizations harness the power of data to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.