Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award

Leadership is needed to direct resources and programs aimed at reducing health care disparitities and increasing diversity in leadership and staff positions. This award honors care systems that have been successful at achieving the following goals:

  • Recognize outstanding efforts among hospitals and care systems to advance equity of care;
  • Increase awareness of the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities and its stated goals and milestones to eliminate health care disparities; and
  • Spread lessons learned and progress toward health care equity and the promotion of diversity.

The AHA Equity of Care award is named in honor of Carolyn Boone Lewis, the first African American and first hospital trustee to chair the AHA board, who was a tireless advocate for equity of care.

 

The application period for the 2024 Equity of Care Awards is closed.

To learn more about the application process, visit the Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award page on the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity website.


2023 Equity of Care Award winners

  • Meritus Health, Transforming winner
  • Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Emerging winner
  • Rapid City Hospital (Monument Health), Small/Rural Hospital Excellence winner

2022 Equity of Care Award winner, honorees

  • Mount Sinai Health System, winner
  • Novant Health, honoree
  • Thomas Jefferson University/Jefferson Health, honoree

2021 Equity of Care Award winner, honorees

  • Atrium Health, winner
  • Henry Ford Health System, honoree
  • ChristianaCare, honoree

2020 Equity of Care Award winner, honorees

  • Cone Health, winner
  • Chatham Hospital, honoree
  • Henry Ford Health System, honoree

2019 Equity of Care Award winner, honorees

  • Anne Arundel Medical Center, winner
  • Atrium Health, honoree
  • Northwell Health, honoree
  • Rush University Medical Center, honoree
  • Sutter Health, honoree

2018 Equity of Care Award winner, honorees

  • Navicent Health, winner
  • Atrium Health, honoree
  • Rush University Medical Center, honoree
  • Regional Health, honoree
  • Cone Health, honoree

2017 Equity of Care Award winner, honorees

  • Kaiser Permanente, winner
  • Cone Health, honoree
  • Rush University, honoree
  • Moffitt Cancer Center, honoree
  • Advocate Health Care, honoree

2016 Equity of Care Award winner, honorees

  • Cleveland Clinic, winner
  • The MetroHealth System, honoree
  • Navicent Health, honoree
  • CHRISTUS Health, honoree
  • West Tennessee Healthcare, honoree

2015 Winners

  • Henry Ford Health System, Detroit
    • A 57 percent increase in minorities holding leadership positions and a 44 percent increase in females holding leadership positions (2009-2014).
  • Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, N.J.
    • Reduced 30-day readmission rate for low-income patietns from 13 to 5.2 percent in one year.
  • Honoree: AnMed Health, Anderson , S.C.
    • A disparities dashboard that provides access to REAL data
  • Honoree: Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
    • Created a 'disparities navigator' by employing technology to exmine different health outcomes to created effective interventions

2014 Winners

  • Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
  • Honoree: University Hospitals, Cleveland
  • Honoree: Henry Ford Health System , Detroit
  • Honeoree: Lutheran HealthCare, Brooklyn, N.Y.

For more information contact equityaward@aha.org