Dear Colleagues, Partners, and Friends,
With the New Year just ahead, I have been reflecting on 2018 and how very grateful we are at Health Outreach Partners (HOP) to be working alongside and on behalf of such a committed group of individuals and organizations.
It’s been a big year for HOP and for the communities we serve. We said goodbye to some valued colleagues, and we welcomed others to our team. Our hearts ached for those affected by natural disasters and violence, and we honored the work of providers, health care workers, first responders, volunteers, and advocates. We faced unprecedented threats to our immigrant communities and mobilized to identify community-based solutions. And we continued our work to help health centers and other organizations to address some of their most pressing challenges, like working on transportation barriers that keep people from getting the care that they need and engaging patients with diabetes through strong outreach programs.
Fundamental to our work, we believe that health is a human right. One of the more meaningful opportunities we have had this year has been exploring the root causes of health inequities and opportunities for addressing them through the framework of structural competency. Working with a subject matter expert, we developed a training curriculum for health centers and trained our staff on this important topic. In the coming year, we will be offering training opportunities for our colleagues at health centers, Primary Care Associations, and other partner organizations to continue this learning with us. We hope that you can join us.
Our greatest hope for 2019 is that we may establish even deeper connections and collaborations with those of you who are on the front lines, working to increase access to care, achieve health equity, and ultimately improve the quality of life for the communities you serve. We are here to support you, so let’s keep working together to advance the ideals of the community health center movement that began over 50 years ago.
With deepest respect and appreciation,
Kristen