The UPMC Center for Engagement and Inclusion addresses major health disparities in our communities. The Center for Engagement and Inclusion's strategy targets two key areas: health and youth. The intent is to invest efforts and resources in a deep and narrow manner to foster greatest impact.
Health
Our commitment to addressing key health issues that disproportionality affect our diverse communities includes:
UPMC hosts prevention and safety forums and created the UPMC COVID-19 Ambassadors and Community Vaccine Collaborative.
UPMC COVID-19 Ambassadors consists of Physicians and Employees who have received the Vaccine and are willing to speak about their experience in local underserved communities.
The goals of this group are to be sure that our underserved communities are not disadvantaged due to misunderstanding or lack of information about the risk and benefits of the vaccine. The specific focus is to develop a communications plan around Vaccine Education & Employee based Community Champions.
The Community Vaccine Collaborative (CVC) is an innovative community and academic partnership centered on mitigating the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and Latinx communities. The CVC will collaborate with the Pittsburgh community by nurturing trusted messengers and increasing trustworthiness of health care and research using work groups that will connect, communicate, and build trust through:
- Speakers’ Bureau and Community Meetings
- Creative, interactive messaging/social media
- Increasing trustworthiness of COVID-19 vaccine research and health care and promoting vaccine delivery and uptake
The Pittsburgh Inequality Report Employment Disparities Workgroup was created in response to the report set forth by Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission. The income, employment, and education imbalances addressed in the report are now a key focus for the continued development of the UPMC workforce.
Youth
Junior Health Care Explorers
In partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Health Sciences, provides students across the Pennsylvania region with a 13-week program to begin their career exploration in the health care industry. The program consists of virtual workshops, new learning programs, and small breakout activities to introduce middle school students to the world of health care.
Reading is FUNdamental (RIF)
A literacy mentoring program that pairs 30 UMPC employees with students from Manchester Charter School. Employees meet weekly with their paired reading buddies and build meaningful relationships through conversation, books, and literacy-based activities.
Flipside Anti-Gun Violence Series
The Flipside is an anti-gun violence effort that brings together the many people affected by a shooting. It leads at-risk youth through a series of activities that follow “the path of the bullet.”
Students move through the sessions by following the story of a shooting victim.
The goal of the Flipside is to give students the chance to think about the real consequences of their actions.
At the end of the session, teachers highlight ways to live a safer and more productive lifestyle. The program helps students acknowledge they need to make better decisions in life and gives them the tools to do so.
Community Health Partnership Council
The Community Health Partnership Council's mission to build a healthy Pittsburgh for our diverse communities and address their needs and health disparities.
The goals of the council include:
- Share data on relevant issues impacting our diverse neighborhoods and act on opportunities in a timely manner.
- Foster positive dialogue and feedback from community partners on Center for Engagement and Inclusion programs to ensure the best benefit and use of resources.
- Create an ongoing communication platform that keeps UPMC and its partners apprised of each other’s programs and actions.
- Provide underserved areas with health literacy content.
Take Charge of Your Health
To reinforce UPMC’s commitment to research, improving health literacy, and overall community health, the Center for Engagement and Inclusion partners with:
- The University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
- The New Pittsburgh Courier
- The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh
Each month, the Courier publishes an article highlighting pertinent research to the health of our diverse neighborhoods.
View all the Take Charge of Your Health articles