Valley Health System is the first hospital system in Bergen County to join the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) #123 for Equity Pledge to Act to Eliminate Health Care Disparities. By signing the pledge, Valley has agreed to participate in a 12-month project-based initiative aimed to ensure that they work towards delivering the highest quality of care to every patient to meet the changing needs of their communities.
The AHA #123 for Equity pledge focuses on three areas the AHA’s believes provide the greatest opportunities for hospitals and health systems to increase the equity of the care they provide to patients:
• Increase the collection and use of race, ethnicity and language preference data;
• Increase cultural competency training; and
• Increase diversity in leadership and governance.
The AHA has partnered with the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities as well as several other associations to form a group to encourage hospitals to increase their equity of care delivery. Other partnering associations include the American College of Healthcare Executives, America’s Essential Hospitals, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.
