Vaccinating racial and ethnic minorities has been a priority, because COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted these communities. Better Health data over the course of 2021 shows the positive impact on vaccination rates Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) have had over county providers. Listen to Better Health's community impact lead, Kirstin Craciun, discuss the COVID-19 vaccination incentive program and the work of our FQHC partners in vaccinating at-risk communities in a discussion with Abigail Bottar from local radio station WKSU.

To listen the interview, click here.

Cleveland's Community Health Center COVID Services Collaborative – comprised of Asian Services in Action (ASIA), Care Alliance Health Center, Circle Health / The Centers, Neighborhood Family Practice (NFP), Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services, Inc. (NEON), and Signature Health – has been working tirelessly to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates in underserved communities.

To read the press release detailing their successes, click here.

For the past two decades, the leading contributing factor to infant deaths in our region has been prematurity. One of First Year Cleveland's priorities is to decrease extreme prematurity in our community and ensure that more babies live to see their first birthday. Results to date are promising as 2020 preliminary data shows an 11.4 preterm birth rate — the lowest rate reported since 2015 which was 14.9! But — we still have work to do as racial disparities persist and the goal for 2020 is to reduce the rate to less than 10 percent.

Better Health Partnership and FYC Action Team 4 members are focusing on this issue by actively:

• Conducting Learning Circle programs with birth hospital clinical teams
• Improving access to prenatal care and timely interventions to help prevent preterm birth
• Addressing social determinants impacting expectant parents by referring pregnant mothers to results-driven interventions like home visiting and the Better Health Pathways Community HUB

The drop in rates is largely due to the combined efforts of all First Year Cleveland activists mobilizing the community to do better and their strategies are working. Thank you to all for your dedication to saving our babies in Cuyahoga County!

Cleveland's Community Health Center COVID Services Collaborative – comprised of Asian Services in Action, Inc., Care Alliance Health Centers, Circle Health Services/The Centers, Neighborhood Family Practice, Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services, Inc.(NEON), and Signature Health, Inc. – has been working overtime to boost vaccination rates in underserved communities. In addition to providing vaccines in their health centers, local community health centers have brought vaccinations to a variety of community settings including churches, schools, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) facilities, low-income senior housing, and area nonprofits.

Relying on data provided by Better Health Partnership as indicated in the above graph, the tireless efforts of our Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) partners have proven to be extremely successful at getting communities of color vaccinated.