About Health Equity and Inclusion
Disparate health outcomes for minorities, individuals experiencing homelessness, and other subsets of California’s population are the result of historic and systemic inequalities that persist today, and it has risen to the level of a public health crisis in California. Unequal access to health care and health resources, as well as unequal and damaging environmental conditions due to race, socioeconomic status, and other factors is untenable in a just and healthy society. Some facts*:
Black Californians have the highest rates of new prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer cases, and the highest death rates for breast, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer.
About one in five Latinx Californians report not having a usual source of care and difficulty finding a specialist.
Californians who are Native American and Alaska Native, as well as Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, are less likely to report having a checkup within the past year than other racial/ethnic groups.
*Source: California Health Care Foundation
Ensuring every Californian receives equitable, high-quality care requires long-term systemic solutions. California’s hospitals are on the front lines of mitigating health inequities. Within their communities, hospitals examine and address social determinants of health — factors such as housing instability, access to healthy foods, and community violence — that significantly affect health risks and outcomes.
Hospitals also continually work to improve patient experience and outcomes through a variety of initiatives, including a statewide maternal health quality collaborative; data collection and analysis on race, ethnicity, language preference, and other sociodemographic data; cultural competency training; increasing diversity in leadership and governance; and improving and strengthening community partnerships.
But hospitals alone cannot eliminate health disparities. It will take systemic reform, paired with broad partnerships across all segments of California’s communities, to break from the status quo.
2025 Southern California Contracting Conference
Communities Lifting Communities (CLC) and HASC are proud to partner with the Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Network to elevate and participate in the 2025 Southern California Contracting Conference in Riverside. We’re still seeking hospital procurement leaders to join us, host a complimentary table and attend matchmaking and networking sessions with diverse […]
HASC Backs L.A. Care’s Call to Protect Medicaid
HASC recently cosigned an L.A. Care Health Plan letter urging congressional leaders to protect Medicaid by opposing proposed cuts. The May 1 letter included signatures from a coalition of business and health care leaders across Southern California. The stakeholders warned that federal changes could strip California of $10 to 20 billion each year in Medicaid […]
Early Bird Rate Ends Soon for Supplier Diversity Conference
Interested in attending Communities Lifting Communities and HASC’s third annual Supplier Diversity in Health Care Conference on October 2 in downtown Los Angeles? Join hospitals, clinics, diverse vendors and economic development partners at The California Endowment to advance inclusive procurement and build a stronger, more equitable health care supply chain. Register now and save! Enjoy […]
Simplify AB 962 Reporting and Maximize Savings
Your AB 962 diversity reporting doesn’t have to be time-consuming or costly. Explore a seamless solution for generating a report that meets California’s supplier diversity reporting requirements. HASC member hospitals can receive an efficient solution offered by Communities Lifting Communities (CLC) and HASC in partnership with Proximo, powered by Proveedo. The tool simplifies reporting, enhances […]
Save the Date: Supplier Diversity Conference, Oct. 2
Mark your calendar now for Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025 — the next Supplier Diversity in Health Care Conference! Communities Lifting Communities (CLC) and HASC are excited to share that plans are underway for a compelling day of collaboration, learning and networking to advance supplier diversity and create lasting community impact. 📍 Location: The California Endowment […]
DHEI Roundtables Wrap with Cross-industry Panel
Communities Lifting Communities (CLC) and HASC wound up an inspiring season of virtual Diversity, Health Equity and Inclusion (DHEI) Roundtables on October 16. This final event showcased insights from Trevor Boylston, Boston Scientific; Erika Sandoval, UKG; and Nadine Mullings, Walmart. Vivek Kumar, chief executive officer of Teamforce AI, expertly facilitated the panel. The panelists engaged […]
HASC, CLC Appoint Supplier Diversity Committee Leaders
HASC and Communities Lifting Communities (CLC) are pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Kwok, Cedars-Sinai, as chair of the Supplier Diversity Committee. He will serve along with new co-chairs Audrey Chang, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Flora Mayer, City of Hope. Kwok serves as the associate director of supply chain diversity at Cedars-Sinai Health […]
Supplier Diversity: A View from Partnering Businesses
In our latest Supplier Diversity Initiative podcast, Ivan Garcia, Calidad Medical, and Carlie Elwell, Servicon, offer their view from the supplier side. The two share with HASC’s Adam Blackstone about doing business with hospitals and the challenges they face as diverse suppliers. Garcia and Elwell highlight the importance of educating hospitals about Assembly Bill 962 […]
MLK Community Healthcare’s Cultural Diversity Initiative
In this podcast, Susan Harrington, Communities Lifting Communities, speaks with Signe Gilbert and Rachel Villanueva, MLK Community Healthcare, about their groundbreaking initiative on cultural diversity in the workplace. Through workforce development, the program aims to create a culturally aligned workforce.” This means the medical center is “employing those that live in our community and helping […]
Supplier Diversity Connection Engages 125-plus Vendors, Purchasers
Cedars-Sinai and Huntington Health, a Cedars-Sinai affiliate, recently hosted Huntington Health’s first Supplier Diversity Connection mixer. Held in partnership with Communities Lifting Communities (CLC) and the Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC), the event drew over 125 diverse-owned vendors, hospital purchasers and leaders, and other supporters. The mixer began with a bingo icebreaker, and the […]