WNC HPI 2024 Year In Review!
Photo Credit: Md Omar Faruk via Vecteezy
As 2024 draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to look back at everything we’ve accomplished in the previous 12 months. So, in the spirit of the ubiquitous social media “Wrapped” year-in-review editions, we’ve compiled a roundup of HPI activities, blog posts, podcasts, events, and other highlights from our work this year, showcasing the collective impact we’ve made together. We’re excited to share these with you and look forward to continuing our important work in the year ahead.
WNC HPI Friday Forums
WNC HPI participants listen as Impact Health's Dionne Greenlee-Jones reads the results of a collaborative post-Helene priority refocusing activity.
At the heart of our work are the Friday Forums—the place where strategy meets action, ideas evolve into plans, and collaboration sparks innovation. It's here that we take collective ownership of our mission, align our goals, and make critical decisions that drive meaningful change. In short, this is where the WNC HPI magic happens!
In 2024, we held 36 Friday Forums and HPI Leadership Team meetings, featuring over 30 guest experts and facilitators, with over 100 organizations and coalitions represented by attendees
Over the course of these sessions, we’ve helped identify needs, inform policy and support regional conversation on topics including:
Primary care reimbursement and payment reform
Regional and state healthy aging programs and policy
Maternal health social determinants of health research and resource mapping
NC public health priorities
NC’s child welfare and child care crises
The impact of NC’s Healthy Opportunities Pilots, and operational innovations from WNC HOP Network Lead Impact Health
Lessons learned from the impact of, and recovery efforts related to, Hurricane Helene
Regional data from the 2024 WNC Community Health Assessments
WNC HPI Blogs and Podcasts
In 2024, the WNC HPI produced over 30 blog posts and 9 podcast episodes, with a few more still in the works. Our thanks go out to the entire HPI staff, our community partners, and featured experts for their creativity, insights and passion in helping to produce these resources – we couldn't have done it without you. And a special shout-out goes to WNC HPI Audio Producer Andrew Rainey for his incredible contributions to our blog and podcast series. Andrew's hard work, expertise, and dedication (not to mention his much-remarked-on “made for radio” voice) have made this year's content truly impactful and engaging.
In case you missed them, here are a few of our most popular and impactful pieces published on the WNC HPI blog this year:
Featured Podcasts
Social Determinants of Health: Impact Health and the Healthy Opportunities Pilot
HPI Podcast host Andrew Rainey interviews Dionne Greenlee-Jones, Sr. Director of Innovation and Equity Development for Impact Health, about the power of addressing health disparities and outcomes through non-medical interventions such as housing, food, and other social supports.
WNC HPI Language Access Podcast Series
In this 3-part series, podcast host Andrew Rainey interviews Buncombe County’s Language Access Coordinator, Aaron Vidaurri, the Health Access Programs Manager at the WNC Medical Society Interpreter Network, Rosalia McHattie, and co-founder of the Cenzotle Language Justice Cooperative, Monse Ramirez, along with other regional experts, to explore the challenges, opportunities and policies relating to language access and health in WNC.
Community Health Workers in WNC: An Interview with Honey Yang Estrada
In this episode, host Andrew Rainey speaks with the President of the NCCHWA, Honey Yang Estrada, to learn more about this innovative healthcare workforce opportunity in WNC, including strengths, challenges, and potential policy or strategy areas to continue community health work.
Featured Blog Posts
North Carolina Primary Care Payment Reform Task Force Report
The HPI’s role in helping inform the establishment of the NC Primary Care Payment Reform Task Force in 2023 was a key area of impact from our previous grant cycle. On April 17, 2024, the Task Force released its findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Medicaid. Read the report and learn more about the task force at the link above.
This post features a new toolkit for community-based organizations (CBOs) designed to provide a roadmap for promoting and expanding evidence-based programs for health promotion and chronic disease self-management in rural communities.
Healthcare Workforce and the Student Health Ambassador Program - WNC HPI News Brief
This audio news brief profiled an innovative program led by the North Carolina Center for Health & Wellness (NCCHW), Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC), and the Dogwood Health Trust, in partnership with a number of universities in that region, which connected students to the critical field of healthcare as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This post highlights the work of the NC Center for Health and Wellness and Social Bridging NC in producing two new resources to support older adults and others affected by this event across the region, including responders and others working on the relief efforts.
WNC HPI Events and Engagement
In 2024, the WNC HPI hosted two events designed to help shape health policy and empower our community:
2024 WNC Legislative Caucus: Emerging Issues and Opportunities for WNC Healthcare & Health Policy
Dr. Alex Howard from Dogwood Health Trust moderates a panel on WNC Workforce Needs and Opportunities at the WNC HPI’s 2024 WNC Legislative Caucus event.
The 2024 WNC Legislative Caucus in March brought together policymakers, healthcare professionals, and advocacy groups to discuss pressing public health issues, foster collaboration, and share the latest research and insights to inform state and regional policy decisions that affect the health and well-being of our region. This year’s event focused on current and future upstream solutions to reduce costs, improve outcomes, expand economic opportunities, and strengthen systems related to health and healthcare in WNC, specifically in the areas of workforce, Medicaid expansion, and social determinants of health. Check out resources, photos, and panel recordings on the “2024 WNC Legislative Caucus” event page.
10th Annual Women’s Health Awareness Conference (WNC Satellite Site)
DLH representatives Eva and Audrey signing up attendees for the Community Resiliency, Environmental Action, and Collaborations for Health (REACH) Equity Study
The Women’s Health Awareness Conference is produced annually by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Office of Human Research and Community Engagement. In April of 2024, the WNC HPI and other regional community partners teamed up with the NCIEHS to host the WNC Satellite Site of the 10th Annual Women’s Health Awareness Conference on the MAHEC campus. This free event featured onsite health screenings and all-day learning sessions for attendees from WNC to engage with, as well as a wide range of health resources provided by community partners and the opportunity to participate in an ongoing study focusing on the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on minority women and their families. You can learn more at the “2024 Women’s Health Awareness Conference - WNC” event page and download an impact summary of the event here (pdf).
Together, these events not only helped identify and inform health policy needs, challenges and opportunities in WNC, but also made a tangible impact on the community, creating pathways to better health for all.
WNC HPI Reports and Publications
Special Report | Emerging Issues and Opportunities in Healthcare Policy for WNC: Social Care Delivery Systems, NC Medicaid Expansion and Workforce Development
This report was prepared in conjunction with the 2024 WNC Legislative Caucus, and was designed to provide additional context and information relating to the panel topics, identify policy-level efforts underway in NC to address these areas of concern, and how these issues intersect with the broader goals of improving life expectancy and overall quality of life for Western North Carolinians.
Executive Summary (pdf)
Full Report (pdf)
June 2023-July 2024 Impact Report
We also want to highlight our July 2023-June 2024 HPI Impact Report. This report covers the first grant/fiscal year of our recent continuance funding from Dogwood Health Trust, and highlights some of the successes and progress we made in that first fiscal period.
To all of our partners - thank you!
As we close out 2024, the staff and leadership of the WNC Health Policy Initiative want to extend our heartfelt thanks to each of our guests, attendees and partners for your unwavering support, participation and commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of Western North Carolina. Your dedication has been instrumental in advancing the mission and shared goals of the WNC HPI.
As we move into the new year, we invite each of you to reflect on what we have achieved together and to think about how we might improve and expand on these successes in the coming year. We look forward to reconvening in 2025 to collectively renew our commitment to informing strategies to increase equitable access to care for everyone in WNC, reducing the cost of care and financial burden to our communities, businesses, and institutions, and improving the health and wellbeing of our WNC community members.
A special thanks goes out to Dogwood Health Trust for their continued financial support of the WNC HPI. Your commitment plays a critical role in enabling us to continue our work and make a meaningful impact in the community. We are deeply grateful for your partnership and look forward to seeing what we can achieve together.
