Aug. 26, 2024

Three community hospitals unite to improve equity in pediatric healthcare

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, Covenant Children’s Hospital in Saginaw, and Munson Medical Center in Traverse City announce their commitment to a quality collaborative designed to identify and address equity issues for pediatric patients and their families receiving care at their hospitals.  

Michigan Medicine researchers will coordinate the new collaborative, Michigan Community Hospitals Improving Equity for Children (Mi-CHIME), which is funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, a philanthropic foundation that works to improve the health and wellness of Michigan residents.

Mi-CHIME is designed to engage the three collaborating hospitals in identifying and measuring potential healthcare inequities within their organizations. Mi-CHIME facilitates the shared identification of topics for study, research methods to determine if an inequity exists, and data and quality improvement strategies across the collaborating hospitals to support the process. If the presence of an inequity is verified through a rigorous process, Mi-CHIME will work in a collaborative fashion across the hospitals to develop and implement specific quality improvement interventions.  Each hospital will then measure to see if the improvement strategies were successful in decreasing inequities.  If not, new strategies will be developed and then tested for impact.

Mi-CHIME's leaders define equity issues as those within the control of the health system, either in the care patients receive or in the patient/family's experience. Equity issues could include differences in how patients and their families are treated relative to their gender, race and ethnicity, income, ability status, sexual orientation, weight status and more. These issues have been studied frequently in adults; however, there is limited research on them in pediatric populations, and even fewer interventions to address equity issues for kids.

"It takes a lot of courage to voluntarily look in the mirror and potentially stare at your existing shortcomings," said Gary Freed, M.D., M.P.H., the director of Mi-CHIME and a professor in the department of pediatrics at the U-M Medical School. "Joining Mi-CHIME is a testament to these hospitals' integrity and dedication to the equitable treatment of children and their families. I am proud to be a part of this effort and of the Michigan Health Endowment Fund for making it possible."

MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena is a 139-bed hospital located in northeast Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron. Opened in 1940, the hospital is affiliated with Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center of the University of Michigan, and offers a continuum of healthcare services normally found only in much larger communities. 

"Being involved in the Mi-CHIME collaboration is an outstanding example of our purpose here at MyMichigan Health, which is 'Creating Healthy Communities – Together,'" said Lydia Watson, M.D., president and CEO of MyMichigan Health. "Caring for the children of the communities we serve is not just a privilege but our responsibility. This partnership between MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena, Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw and Munson Medical Center in Traverse City will allow us to identify areas of improvement and share best practices and resources so that we can better the overall health care outcomes for our children."

Located in the heart of the Great Lakes Bay Region, Covenant Children’s Hospital is equipped with the only pediatric intensive care unit north of Flint, a Level II trauma center for adults and pediatrics, and a 55-bed regional neonatal intensive care unit. The dedicated team of pediatric experts at Covenant not only offer specialty services, they also provide a teaching environment for CMU College of Medicine, with residency programs in pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology. 

"Our mission at Covenant HealthCare is extraordinary care for every generation; we continuously raise our expectations to deliver on that promise," says Beth Charlton, B.S.N., R.N., M.H.A., president and CEO of Covenant HealthCare. “As a children's hospital, our medical teams are passionate about the quality-of-care patients receive. We are eager to be part of the research to enhance evidence-based care for future generations. This collaboration represents a commitment to serving the local community, and our dedication to improving the lives of young people across the state."

Munson Medical Center is a regional referral center for all northern Michigan. The 442-bed hospital has earned a national reputation for top quality care and has the only neonatal intensive care unit in northern Michigan. Munson Healthcare is northern Michigan's largest healthcare system.

"Munson Healthcare Pediatrics is proud to collaborate with Mi-CHIME alongside MyMichigan Medical Center Alpena and Covenant Children's Hospital in Saginaw," said Joe Hurshe, FACE, president and CEO of Munson Healthcare. "As a regional referral center serving all of Northern Michigan, our commitment to pediatric care is unwavering. We are dedicated to addressing equity issues and improving healthcare outcomes for all children and families in our community and the state."

Although the work of Mi-CHIME starts at the three hospitals in the collaborative, its leaders believe that pediatric equity issues may be present in other health systems across the state and the country. Findings from Mi- CHIME will be disseminated to inform local, state, and national decision makers to provide actionable steps to identify and address inequities. Ultimately, the goal is to improve equity in pediatric care for all.

Mi-CHIME is modeled after another Michigan Medicine-facilitated quality collaborative, the Michigan Child Health Equity Collaborative (Mi-CHEC), which consists of the three largest pediatric hospitals in Michigan: C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, and Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids. To date, Mi-CHEC has explored three areas of potential inequity in pediatric care: race/ethnicity verification in electronic medical records; arrival-to-discharge time for patients in emergency services; and use of restraints in the emergency department. 

"Mi-CHEC has given us an excellent blueprint to follow," said Susan Woolford, M.D., M.P.H., the associate director of Mi-CHIME and Mi-CHEC and an associate professor in the department of pediatrics at the U-M Medical School. "Both of these collaborations have the potential to improve health outcomes for Michigan’s children and to be a model for other states nationwide."

For more information on Mi-CHIME, visit michime.org.