News

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Meritus Health has released its Second Annual Health Equity Report, designed to shine a light into the progress made since the last published report and identify the current disparities in the care provided by the health system.

“Our reason for being transparent on our disparities is simple – make it personal to our community and focus on using the data for improvement. We are committed to providing the best care and service to all,” said Maulik Joshi, Dr.P.H., president and CEO.

From the report produced last year, Meritus Health reduced disparities in two areas – sepsis care and pre-term births.

Raising awareness, providing feedback of data and conducting unconscious bias training were some of the interventions that led to the elimination of differences in outcomes in those areas.

In the latest report, Meritus Health analyzed dozens of measures across multiple settings of care and identified five domains where disparities where found:

• Newborns exclusively breast feeding
• Opioid administration
• Poorly-controlled diabetes
• Emergency department throughput time
• Timely appointment follow-up after discharge

“We acknowledge these disparities. The shift now changes, as we have set specific aims, formed multidisciplinary work teams and are looking to produce measurable improvements as it pertains to the mitigation of health disparities across our health system,” Joshi said.

To read the Second Annual Health Equity Report, visit www.meritushealth.com/about-us/diversity-and-health-equity