Health Equity and Racial Justice

Who We Are

The conditions in which people are born, live, learn, work, heal, and play shape their health in many ways. Everyone deserves to achieve their best health fairly and fully. In November 2019, Anne Arundel County declared racism a public health issue. The award-winning Health Equity and Racial Justice Office, created April 2020, exists to confront racism and other unjust social conditions that can harm the health of underinvested communities in Anne Arundel County.

The Health Equity and Racial Justice Office envisions an Anne Arundel County where systemic racism is dismantled, unlocking opportunity for all to achieve their best health.

What We Do

• Communicate with urgency the need to value every person and their health fairly.
• Center people most impacted by unfair practices and unjust conditions in decision-making processes.
• Drive transformative policy, system, and environmental changes.
• Support health equity and racial justice initiatives through partnerships.

Contact Information:

HealthEquity@aacounty.org

Follow Us:

AAHealthEquity and AASaludEquidad

Community Engagement

• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice invests in the annual Hispanic Health Festival, which facilitates access to health care services among underinvested communities with limited English proficiency.
• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice’s Community Health Worker Team is made up of essential public health workers who nurture authentic and enduring relationships of trust with the community to link people disproportionately impacted by preventable health inequities to needed resources and support.
• The multi-year Community Health Ambassadors Program funds seven (7) organizational partners who support Anne Arundel County community members through access to care, behavioral health, community safety, COVID-19, and weather preparedness assessment, education, information-sharing, linkage to services and supports, outreach, resource dissemination, and training.

Assessment and Planning

• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice supports one of Anne Arundel County Department of Health’s Strategic Plan imperatives to advance health and health equity through the following: Health in All Policies; a health equity action plan; enhancement of staff education and understanding of social drivers of health and health equity; and, expansion of partnerships with more marginalized and underrepresented groups.

Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes

• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice invests annually in Local and Regional Government Alliance on Race and Equity Membership for Anne Arundel County governmental employees.
• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice serves as an ex officio member of the Joint Commission on the Opportunity Gap.

Communications

• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice hosts monthly health equity forums for information-sharing, idea exchange, and meaningful conversations about social drivers of health.
• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice harnesses, creates, translates, and disseminates tailored and culturally competent materials for health education, health promotion at community events, and linkage to care.
• The Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice engages the community via social media.
• Facebook pages: @AASaludEquidad [Spanish] and @AAHealthEquity

Sustaining a Visible Presence in the Community through High-Impact Engagement

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health’s Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice leverages Community Health Workers who are essential public health workers integral to a strong public health infrastructure. Community Health Workers identify the complex health and social needs rife in underinvested communities through authentic relationships built on trust.

What is the role of a Community Health Worker?

Community Health Workers nurture enduring relationships of trust with the community to link people disproportionately impacted by preventable health inequities to needed health and social support services. Through meaningful partnerships, Community Health Workers create community pathways to tangible support, such as financial assistance for rent and utilities, food support, and transportation for medical appointments.

Meet the Health Equity and Racial Justice Office’s Community Health Worker Team

Authentic Community Engagement: Advancing Fair and Full Health for All

At the center of the multi-year Community Health Ambassadors Program lies long-standing partnerships with community and faith-based organizations. Anne Arundel County Department of Health, Office of Health Equity and Racial Justice’s partners are the well-trained boots-on-the-ground who meet residents where they are as trusted sources of health information and resources. This critical community-centered infrastructure is a best practice for advancing health equity with a focus on communities experiencing structural racism, hard-to-access systems, and underinvestment, which are root causes of health inequities. During fiscal year 2023, Community Health Ambassadors engaged 25,620 community members.

Who Are the Community Health Ambassadors?

• Community and faith-based organizations that serve Anne Arundel County community members. 
• Frontline public health workers who are trusted voices in local neighborhoods. 

Rooted in their community, Community Health Ambassadors are trained and active in outreach for access to care, behavioral health, community safety, COVID-19 and weather preparedness information-sharing, education, and linkage to health services among communities marginalized by place and race.

"...We believe we have been able to bridge the gap between health services and the community in a way that has created trust and strong relationships.” - Kingdom Kare, Inc.