Priority Health receives Health Equity Accreditation from national health care organization

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Priority Health, a nationally recognized nonprofit health plan, has been awarded Health Equity Accreditation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an organization that works to improve the quality of health care nationwide.

Achieving Health Equity Accreditation includes access to NCQA programs that offer an actionable framework for helping health systems continuously improve and prioritize health equity for the patients and communities they serve.

Shannon Wilson, vice president of Population Health and Health Equity at Priority Health, said this accreditation demonstrates Priority Health’s commitment to providing equitable, affordable, high-quality health care.

“Priority Health places a high value on providing equitable access to care and understands the critical need for better understanding of our populations,” said Wilson. “We look forward to implementing new initiatives aimed at improving the health care experience for vulnerable populations.”

Priority Health has several initiatives that address health equity including but not limited to:

• Low birth weight project: Aims to reduce the rate of low-birth weight babies overall, and the disparities in low birth weights between moms of different races.
• Cultural competence training for all employees: Systemwide learning and development program to educate and remove unconscious bias and improve cultural intelligence.
• Distribution of bilingual CPR kits: Through a partnership with the American Heart Association, Maranda and Muskegon’s Hackley Community Care, were able to distribute more than 80 bilingual CPR kits that contain everything caregivers need to learn the lifesaving skills of infant CPR and infant choking relief—in roughly 20 minutes, without having to leave home.
• PriorityMOM program: Aims to reduce total cost of maternity care, number of preterm births, cost of preterm births (includes NICU and ongoing care for child), and post-partum readmissions.

Health Equity Accreditation focuses on the foundation of health equity work: Building an internal culture that supports external health equity work; collecting data to create and offer language services and provider networks mindful of individuals’ cultural and linguistic needs; and identifying opportunities to reduce health inequities and improve care.

About Priority Health:

With over 30 years in business, Priority Health is the second largest health plan in Michigan, offering an extensive portfolio of health benefits options for employer groups and individuals, including Medicare and Medicaid plans. Serving more than one million members each year and offering a broad network of primary care physicians in Michigan, Priority Health continues to be recognized as a leader for quality, customer service, transparency and product innovation. Learn more about affordable, quality health coverage options from Priority Health.

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