A special edition of TIME magazine showcases RUSH's health equity strategy as a “blueprint for other hospitals.”
“The Future of Medicine” is a collection of stories that detail amazing breakthroughs, new technology and innovative trends that will help people stay healthy in the future.
The article, “The Missing Link: Equity,” discusses how some hospitals are acting on the growing body of scientific evidence that social conditions like income and education are the root causes of poor health, far more than behavior or biology.
“We know that health is determined by what happens in the community," Dr. John A. Rich, director of the RUSH BMO Institute for Health Equity, told TIME. "Those things aren’t random; they’re the result of structural racism and the social determinants of health."
Hospitals, medical schools, insurers and policymakers have all been attempting to better understand how societal forces are too often the root cause of many life-shortening illnesses, the article notes.
“Rush University System for Health is, in fact, a great example," it says, "of how a medical system can embed itself in the community, helping to address those social and structural determinants of health."
In a graphic called “The RUSH Model: Creating a Blueprint for Other Hospitals," TIME explains how RUSH’s community engagement efforts are part of a broader, coordinated strategy to address health equity — everyone having a fair chance at a long, healthy life no matter where they live.
It includes examples of how RUSH’s clinical, research, education and community engagement missions all contribute to its health equity strategy.
