This press release was originally published on the Colorado Equity Compass (CEC) website.
October 24, 2022
DENVER — The Colorado Equity Compass (CEC) is honored to accept the Redefining American Healthcare Award! A ceremony commemorating this national honor will be held on Wednesday, October 26, from 10:30 a.m. – Noon at The Colorado Trust. Presented by theHealthcare Leadership Council (HLC), the award was created to draw attention to existing initiatives that effectively address and improve health inequities.
“We deeply appreciate the recognition of our community-based data storytelling work. This award serves to further solidify our mission to remove health inequities across the state and further prioritize data access to improve the social determinants of health (SDOH) for all Coloradans — crucial factors that impact one’s long-term health and well-being,” says CEC Project Lead Dr. Rachele Espiritu. “We know that when communities learn how to combine data and powerful stories, they can influence and drive change for equity.”
As a project of the Trust, CEC helps communities — and the organizations that serve them — better understand these issues and advocate for change using data and stories. This work consolidates diverse resources, connects peers, and both aligns and empowers communities and institutions via the Equity Data Navigator. Using this tool, users of the CEC website can view a detailed breakdown of the SDOH across any county in Colorado, seeing factors like median family income, education levels, self-reported good health, race/ethnicity data, and much more. There is even a feature that can compare any two counties side-by-side for a closer look at inequities by region.
CEC also serves as a hub for community storytelling and resource sharing. Story sharing is a vital component of the data showcased on the CEC site, highlighting often overlooked and underrepresented qualitative data points that paint a clearer picture of the impacts the SDOH are having on the residents of Colorado. In 2022, 20 different community advocacy organizations across Colorado received $2,000 each to share SDOH-related story content on the site. Over 100 stories were received by the CEC and posted on the site. CEC is also working to update SDOH-related resources on the site.
About the Redefining American Healthcare Award
HLC created the Redefining American Healthcare Award to draw attention to existing initiatives that effectively address and improve health inequities. Examples of programs that effectively address and improve health inequities include those addressing broadband access, behavioral health, social determinants of health, vaccine readiness, reducing disparities in care delivery, and increasing workforce and clinical trial diversity. These innovative approaches provide an avenue to scale and replicate in other communities, improving upon best practices nationwide. Learn more.
About CEC
CEC, an initiative funded by The Colorado Trust and led by Change Matrix in partnership with the Colorado Health Institute and Consume & Create, works to improve health equity outcomes in communities across Colorado. Emphasizing the importance of the SDOH, CEC uses a combination of the Equity Data Navigator data tool, community-based stories, and Colorado-wide resources to democratize health data and provide a platform for all Coloradans to share their health stories.
It is CEC’s mission to democratize health equity data and its vision that one day all Coloradans will feel empowered and inspired to share their own data stories on the site. We encourage you to explore our site, and to get started with your own storytelling project today!
Every story counts.
For more information and to view the data model, visit www.coequitycompass.org. For media inquiries, contact Eve Kucharski at hello@coequitycompass.org.
