Health Equity Committee

Agenda Health Equity Committee – Special Meeting October 16th, 2:30-3:30 PM (Virtual and In-person at City Hall room 319) Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81699466159?pwd=S0ZldTVTcTBkNkdUSnhISHB1b3FVUT09 Mission - To eliminate disparities in health outcomes of all people in the City of Norwich due to all forms of current and historical systemic oppression, injustice, and discrimination. Members: City Manager John Salomone, Patrick McCormack, Police Chief Patrick Daley, Ms. Brigid Marks, Kate Milde, Ms. Shiela Hayes, Ms. Jennifer Granger, Dr. Ramindra (Micky) Walia, Dr. Mohammed Qureshi, Dr. Alexander Mbewe/Dr. Kyle McClaine, Mr. Joseph Zuzel, Melissa Meyers, Laura Dietrich, Cathleen Special, 1. Call to order 2. Attendance 3. Minutes from Sept. meeting 4. Updates a. Chair Updates i. Health Equity Committee semi-annual report submitted 9/26/23 to City Clerk ii. Introduce recording secretary Melinda Wilson iii. Request to send out a recurring invite for HEC Meeting b. Kate Milde Director Norwich Human Services– i. Amended resolution (redline changes) from changes made in June HEC meeting, when will it come up in front of city council? 5. Guest Speaker (suggestions) a. Representative Derell Wilson – discuss 13 points in resolution 6. Sub Committee Report Out - 6 areas of focus. ● Health Equity Plan (3 & 4) - Cathy Special, Dr. Qureshi, Laura Dietrich ● Data (aggregation and analysis) (5 & 6) - Patrick McCormack, Dr. Walia ● Direct Services (7 & 8) - Joseph Zuzel, Melissa Meyers, Dr. Walia, Dr. Mbewe/Dr. McClaine ● Internal city processes (internal operations 9 & 10) - Brigid Marks, Kate Milde, Chief Patrick Daley ● Legislative advocacy (13 & 14) - Shiela Hayes, Patrick McCormack ● Goals and objectives (12) – (imbedded in committee, request to keep ongoing record of committee goals and objectives) 7. Other business 8. Adjournment JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JULY 19, 2021 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH, 1. The Norwich City Council asserts that racism is a public health crisis affecting our entire community; 2. The Norwich City Council and City Manager develop strategies that work to dismantle the systemic racism that creates barriers to strong public health. These strategies shall include access to data to drive equitable policies and a review of current policies and practices through a racial equity lens; 3. In partnership with Uncas Health District, develop a “Norwich Health Equity” plan that outlines detailed objectives and measurable goals in which the City will focus on root causes of the inequities that cause disparities in health outcomes for our residents; 4. Engage historically marginalized communities in identifying problems and solutions and supporting community-driven responses; 5. Ensure complete and regular availability of specific race and ethnicity data that documents the health inequities that exist in Norwich through collection, dissemination and remedies for gaps in that data to strengthen our collective understanding. This should include creating and implementing a Norwich Health Equity Measure Set, and data sharing between the Uncas Health District and relevant agencies of the State of Connecticut; 6. Conduct ongoing and enhanced analysis using all available data to understand the complexity of the interconnectedness of societal, environmental and behavioral factors that contribute to the impact of racism on access to those resources that promote good health including good jobs, access to healthy and affordable food, housing, equitable transportation options and excellent public education. This includes a more comprehensive understanding of racism and its impact on violence in the community both as a direct correlation to its existence and the impact that it creates on the overall health of people and the community at large; 7. Focus on access to prevention and treatment that is culturally and linguistically competent and meets communities where they are to counter the inequities that exist in health care; 8. Develop direct service programs and services to address the negative impact that these inequities have had on specific populations as well as programs that empower communities to tackle these systemic barriers; 9. The City Manager and Human Resource Director commit to conduct all human resources, vendor selection and grant management activities with a racial equity lens including reviewing all internal policies and practices such as examinations, hiring, promotions, leadership appointments and funding; 10. Promote racially equitable economic and workforce development practices; 11. Encourage community partners and stakeholders in the education, employment, housing, criminal justice and safety arenas to recognize racism as a public health crisis and to implement portions or all of this declaration; 12. All stakeholders identify clear goals and objectives, including specific benchmarks, to assess progress and capitalize on opportunities to further advance racial equity and report semiannual to the city council on the progress of these goals ; and 13. Advocate at the state and federal level for policies and funding and the Norwich City Council will consider in the organization’s budget allocating adequate financial resources to accomplish these activities.