HRiA at NACCHO 360 2024

Health Resources in Action (HRiA) looks forward to participating in the NACCHO360 annual conference in Detroit, MI on July 23-26, 2024. Hosted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials, NACCHO360 is the only conference that focuses on the challenges and opportunities for local health.   This year, we’re sending a dozen staff members to learn, connect, and share lessons learned from our work over the past year. Below, you’ll find a list of our team members attending the conference, information on our posters and presentations, and curated content and resources to learn a bit more about us. We hope to see you there!

Presentations

Wednesday, July 24th

Advancing Racial Equity Means Better Outcomes for All: A Case Study in Embedding Racial Equity in Local Public Health Departments across the State of Massachusetts.

Description: Embedding racial equity among service-sharing local public health departments is critical to attaining optimal health and well-being for all. This session will share lessons learned from equipping local health departments in the state of Massachusetts with the foundational knowledge and skills needed to advance racial equity in their respective communities.

Time: 10:30 – 11:30 AM
Type: Sharing Session – 60 Minutes
Speakers: Daisy Ortega, Ezekiel Baskin

Identifying and Overcoming Legal Barriers to Equity: Tools and Strategies for Public Health Allies

Description: Health departments have been navigating laws (e.g. anti-trans, anti-DEI) that limit action. Attendees will learn about tools for health departments to navigate the impact of these laws. These tools are meant to promote learning, and a more unified, consistent voice to reaffirm the commitment to health and racial equity.

Time: 12 – 1:30 PM
Type: Poster Session – 90 Minutes
Speakers: Ben Wood, Elena Bengochea, Victoria Tran

Kirby’s Story: Racial Equity Conversations in Rural Communities

Description: Engaging rural communities in racial equity work presents challenges. “Kirby’s Story” has been used in trainings for rural health departments around the country. From a predominantly white, blue-collar community that experienced economic distress, Kirby inspires others to ask, who else is harmed, and what stories have not been told?

Time: 3:30 – 4:30 PM
Type: Sharing Session – 60 Minutes
Speakers: Brittany Chen, Kirby Lecy, Ben Wood

Thursday, July 25th

You Can Save a Life: Engaging communities to develop and disseminate harm reduction resources

Description: Explore the transformative potential of community-driven harm reduction and how this may work in your own communities. This presentation will provide practical insights into the resource development and distribution strategies for the You Can overdose prevention and response initiative, and reflect on the interconnectedness of community engagement, human dignity, and public health outcomes.

Time: 12 – 1:30 PM
Type: Poster Session – 90 Minutes
Speakers: Elizabeth Reardon Hinkley, Kelsey McManus

Reimagining Rural Public Health Inspection: Centering Equity to Improve Outcomes and Foster Trust Between Residents and Local Government

Description: Discover how a virtual learning community for public health inspectors can transform rural towns, where residents’ foundational interactions with systems of public health are often with inspectors. Join us to explore how a virtual learning community can help reimagine the work of health inspectors through equity-related resources, training and support.

Thursday, July 25, 12 – 1 :30 PM
Type: Poster Session – 90 Minutes
Speakers: Jen Masdea, Kiara Badillo, Ezekiel Baskin

Content & Resources

You Can Save a Life

Anyone can save a life by knowing the signs of an overdose and how to respond. This is the foundational message of the You Can initiative. The You Can suite of resources is designed to build community-wide capacity to reduce deaths from overdose.

A man with a gentle smile with text: Blog post - You Can Save a Life. Reverse an overdose. Save a life. Health Resources in Action.

Collaborating for Health: Addressing Youth Mental Health through the Community Health Improvement Process

Cities and towns often face limited capacity to assess and address community health needs. Recognizing similarities between their neighboring towns, staff from the Andover and North Andover health departments collaborated with a multidisciplinary team at HRiA on a joint CHA/CHIP.

Young people sitting in a circle with text overlay: Blog post. Collaborating for Health. Addressing Youth Mental Health through the Community Health Improvement Process.

Health Departments: Temperature Check for Your Equity Journey

The purpose of the Health Departments: Temperature Check for Your Equity Journey (Temp Check) is to facilitate conversations focused on the current state of a health department’s internal equity efforts, including opportunities for improvement. The Temp Check provides a series of questions and discussion guides to spark conversation, facilitate reflection, articulate gaps, and explore next steps. No matter where your team is on its internal equity journey, the Temp Check will help you identify where to focus time, energy, and resources so you can advance equity efforts within your health department.

Temp check cover image

Our Team