Joint Commission advises on community engagement to promote equity

This week, the Joint Commission released a Quick Safety advisory, which provides four strategies to help hospitals and medical centers support the needs of diverse populations in their communities. The advisory’s guidance highlights the value of making equity a strategic institutional priority, using social intervention frameworks to identify population needs, creating strategic plans for community outreach, and supporting the local workforce through hiring. The Joint Commission considers disparities in health care to be a major patient safety and quality concern. (Joint Commission news release, 7/14/21)