"Imagine a group of people of different heights, ages, and abilities standing behind a tall fence. Equality is giving everyone the same size box to help them see over the fence. Equity is giving each person what they need to see over the fence — a shorter person may need two boxes, whereas a taller person may need no boxes. Our goal is to go beyond this and remove the fence altogether."
Did you know? In Boston...
The Health Equity Accelerator at Boston Medical Center is working to transform healthcare to eliminate gaps in life expectancy and quality of life among different races and ethnicities. We've started working in five clinical areas where we see major disparities.
Pregnancy
Cancer
Infectious Diseases
Chronic Conditions
Behavioral Health
See what we've achieved
Hear from our many expert team members and partners how we are advancing our mission of health justice in crucial clinical areas, including our Equity in Pregnancy and Equity in Diabetes initiatives. Learn how we are thinking beyond hospital to fuel economic mobility in disinvested communities and particularly for people of color.
Help us reach our goal
Our goal is that by 2035 we will have made a demonstrable impact on racial health equity and built a model that other healthcare institutions can replicate to advance health equity across the U.S. Help support us by amplifying our message and staying connected to the health equity work we do.
Partner with us
Get in touch with our team about how you could partner in our mission to achieve racial health equity.
Spread awareness
Spread the word about the Accelerator and our mission in your networks.
Our inaugural summit EQTY 2023 was a success!
In September we hosted medical and community leaders across the healthcare landscape at EQTY 2023: A Summit for Health Justice, where they convened to showcase innovations, share their expertise, and inspire the future of health equity.
Read HealthCity's coverage of EQTY 2023, direct from the conference's floor.
Read more about the accelerator
Thea James, MD, MPH
Executive Director of the Health Equity Accelerator and Vice President of Mission & Associate Chief Medical Officer
Elena Mendez-Escobar, PhD, MBA
Executive Director of Strategy and the Health Equity Accelerator
Sponsors
Boston Medical Center’s Health Equity Accelerator was made possible through seed funding from two of our longstanding and dedicated corporate supporters: John Hancock and the MassMutual Foundation.
The Latest
Prioritizing Mental Health and Trauma Supports in Schools
One public school teacher talks with a BMC psychiatrist on how to support kids struggling with chronic absenteeism and mental health issues.
Boston Medical Center’s Chief of Pediatric Hematology Testifies on Beacon Hill In Support of Sickle Cell Bill
This legislation would allow for the creation of a sickle cell disease registry, which is key in closing racial gaps in sickle cell disease.
Patient Safety Is Everyone's Job At Boston Medical Center
The 2023 annual symposium on quality improvement and patient safety centered on efficient processes for psychological safety on medical teams.
Diversifying Research Staff Is Linked to Critical Increase in Racially Diverse Clinical Trial Participants
New research out of Boston Medical Center sheds much-needed light on creating racially diverse research cohorts.
Boston Medical Center Shows Expanded Home Dialysis Fosters Equity in Kidney Disease
BMC's program busts myths that dialysis can only be done in large homes—20% of patients are on home dialysis—higher than the national average of 13%.
