Strategic Plan to Eliminate Health Disparities in NJ, 2007

III. Summary of Actions

Strategic Plan Home Page

The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services recognizes disparities in health outcomes and health care to be a priority. The Department is committed to implementing this Plan to eliminate health disparities using all its available resources and intends to utilize the Plan as a foundation for current and future work in this area. The Department expects that this plan will be a reference for and inspire more action in this area.  The action steps and timeline for each of the medical areas this Plan has focused on are listed below.

Goal: Reduce the number of minorities with asthma who use hospital emergency departments as a main source of care, prevent asthma mortality and make it possible for children and adults to live healthier lives. 

Action Plan
 
Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007-2010

• Collect Centers for Primary Health Care asthma collaborative data on quality of care. 
• Increase the number of Centers for Primary Health Care participating in asthma collaboratives.
• Provide training to promote uniform, high quality asthma care among providers serving minorities at risk.
• Provide training to increase use among providers of the Asthma Action Plan which personalizes an asthma management program for school-age children.

Goal: Increase awareness of cancer initiatives and promote screenings within the New Jersey minority population.

Action Plan
 
Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007-2010      

• Continue the work of NJCEED Lead Agencies together with cancer county coalitions’ outreach initiatives and expand screening capacity for cervical and prostate cancer at the agencies to prevent instituting waiting lists. 
• Continue to partner with numerous minority community-based organizations and existing social networks to raise awareness of the NJCEED Program and to provide education to the community at large regarding the importance of screening and early detection.
• Identify and address barriers to screening and follow-up care.
• Evaluate the data on the impact of screening programs on minority populations.

Goal: Reduce the number of deaths due to cardiovascular disease through organized outreach and education efforts.

Action Plan

Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007- 2010

• Seek funding to create a centralized cardiovascular control program that addresses health disparities.
• Adopt administrative rules to implement licensing requirements for designation of stroke centers.

Goal:  Increase the number of minorities living with diabetes who receive high quality care and linkages to social supports.

Action Plan
 
Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007-2010

• NJDHSS diabetes grantees will collect diabetes outcome data. 
• Additional Centers for Primary Health Care will participate in the Diabetes Collaboratives.
• Increase the number of minority clients who have access to needed pharmaceuticals through section 340B programs.
• Encourage diabetes grantees to explore funding opportunities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Diabetes Association.
• Encourage minority community-based organizations to participate in American Diabetes Association initiatives.

Goal: Decrease disparities in obesity and increase healthy eating and physical activity across the lifespan among high risk groups (including black and Hispanic populations and those with low socioeconomic status)  in New Jersey.

Action Plan
 
Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007- 2010

• Create a State Office of Obesity Prevention under the domain of the Department of Health and Senior Services that will utilize existing resources to address obesity prevention and reduction, especially among children.
• Appoint an Obesity Prevention Task Force to address the goals and objectives of the NJ Obesity Prevention Action Plan.
• Release the NJ Obesity Prevention Action Plan.
• Apply for external funding.

Goal:  Reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS among minority populations through increased education and facilitation of greater access to care.

Action Plan

Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007-2010

• Increase the percentage of HIV positive individuals receiving care.
• Increase the percentage of individuals tested for HIV, and the number who receive their test results.
• Implement and evaluate syringe exchange programs over a three-year period.
• Encourage providers to discuss more routinely with their patients safe sex options, particularly condom usage.

Goal: Decrease disparities in birth outcomes between white and black infants.

Action Plan

Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007- 2010

• Provide cultural competency training for paraprofessional and professional health care staff.
• Increase outreach and basic education to the community on black infant mortality.
• Increase funding to support enhanced prenatal and pediatric services.
• Utilize newborn screening and genetic services follow-up programs to ensure that all infants born in New Jersey who have abnormal newborn screening test results receive appropriate and timely case management services. 
• Inform appropriate parties including primary care physicians, medical specialists and parents of abnormal screening results.

Goal:  Reduce excess morbidity and mortality due to unintentional injuries among minorities

Action Plan

Steps and Timeline:
FY2007-2010

• Support injury prevention activities in community-based organizations by providing appropriate data and materials for distribution. Specific areas to target are pedestrian safety for children and the elderly, driver safety, seat belt use, child car seat use, smoke alarm installation and maintenance, and water safety and swimming ability.
• Work with NJDOT to identify geographic areas of high pedestrian injury rates among minorities. Collaborate with NJDOT on evaluating the impact on pedestrian injuries of environmental modifications to roadways by providing data on injuries and fatalities. Support pedestrian safety activities in the community by providing appropriate data on injuries.

Goal:  Increase access to translation and other language services for those who are more proficient in a language other than English. 

Action Plan
 
Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007-2010

• Develop a website with translated health educational materials.
• Pilot a demonstration project in partnership with the NJHA to train bilingual staff as medical interpreters.
• Pilot a demonstration project to train community based-organization bilingual staff as medical interpreters.
• Disseminate the “I Speak Poster” to New Jersey hospitals in partnership with NJHA to assist in interpretation.
• Increase the capacity of NJDHSS licensing staff that monitor health care facilities to assess language access services.
• Revise the discharge planning section of the licensing regulations to explicitly address language and cultural barriers.

Goal: Standardize the collection and reporting of race/ethnicity data across the Department.

Action Plan

Steps and Timeline
FY 2007- 2010

• Center for Health Statistics will identify all divisions/programs within NJDHSS that collect race and ethnicity data.
• Center for Health Statistics will provide uniform categories based on OMB 15 standards for the reporting of race and ethnicity.
• Center for Health Statistics will develop a specific template for reporting race and ethnicity data to be used by NJDHSS grantees.
• OMMH will develop an orientation program for NJDHSS grantees on requirements for collecting race and ethnicity and primary language spoken data.
• Center for Health Statistics will develop criteria for standard footnotes in NJDHSS reports whenever the standard categories for reporting are omitted.

 
Goal: Increase minority representation in management/policy-making positions at the NJDHSS.

Action Plan

Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007- 2010

• Develop a list of minority employees who display supervisory/management potential and enroll them into Human Resources Development Institute (HRDI) supervisory/management training courses.  Enroll at least five minority employees per year into HRDI supervisory/management training courses.
• Develop a mentoring program whereby qualified, selected employees are linked with senior managers.
• Train managers and supervisors on the proper methods of interviewing.
• Actively recruit, hire and promote more minorities to fill management and supervisory positions.  Increase minority representation by two percent in fiscal year 2008.

Goal: Support new and maintain established partnerships with community-based organizations, including faith-based groups, advocacy groups, and agencies that have minority health agendas to maximize outreach and increase awareness of health disparities. 

Action Plan: 

Steps and Timeline:
FY 2007-2010

• Initiate the OMMH Empowering Communities with Health Information Project, EMCHIP, which will fund at least five community-based organizations in conducting community education workshops to equip those at greatest risk for health disparities to make more informed decisions about their health.
• Provide a two-day training for NJDHSS staff to increase skills in developing health literacy materials that more effectively target minority communities.
• Federal Region II will join the nation in launching a series of health disparities roundtables in 2007 in order to develop a national blue print for addressing health disparities. The roundtables will provide an important opportunity for communities at the local level to develop agendas that build on current NJDHSS initiatives.