Center for Health Equity

At the Center for Health Equity at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), we see a future where your ZIP code does not correlate to your state of health, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Unfortunately, that is not the current state in Philadelphia, where more than 120,000 children live below the poverty line.

The vision of the Center for Health Equity, launched in 2021, is to discover, implement and disseminate evidence-based practices and policies to ensure equitable care and achieve the best health for every child in Philadelphia.

In the near term, we will bring together experts from CHOP, the city of Philadelphia and the nation to understand the gaps and bridges in achieving health equity. We will begin in CHOP’s own backyard, focusing first on West Philadelphia and then other communities throughout the city facing similar challenges. As we improve our programs and demonstrate strong outcomes, we will then propose adaptable models for health equity that can be used in communities across the country.

“Nothing about us without us” is our mantra at the Center for Health Equity. To this end, the center will integrate the community’s voice through the formation of a Neighborhood Council, a community consultant for each core area of focus and a village of community health workers. The Neighborhood Council will consist of CHOP employees who live in the West Philadelphia area. The community consultant will participate in our clinical, community and research focus areas. Community health workers will be the boots on the ground for our community focus area.

Our Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision

The CHOP Center for Health Equity (CHE) seeks to discover, implement and disseminate evidence-based practices and policies so that every child in Philadelphia has equitable care and opportunities to achieve their best health.

Mission

To achieve health equity by delivering HOPE to children:

• Help to create safe and healthy housing and communities
• Opportunities to thrive and options to succeed in achieving the best health through unbiased clinical care
• Partnerships with communities to achieve health equity for all children in Philadelphia
• Education in safe and healthy schools to encourage children to become economically independent adults

Values

Integrity: We believe in the importance of being genuine and truthful in our intentions. Transparency is at the core of our research and evident in our work.

Compassion: We seek to ensure every member of the communities we serve is treated through a sympathetic and nonjudgmental lens. We strive to understand the individuality within our communities to ensure our patients receive care that is customized to their needs.

Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable to our patients, families and community. To that end, community voice is the lifeblood of the center and guides our work.

Respect: Respect for our patients and colleagues is at the center of who we are. Accordingly, we believe that diversity is essential to growth and excellence, and we seek to collaborate with community members, researchers and experts in health equity.

Excellence: We pursue a standard of excellence by encouraging curiosity and innovation. We aspire to bring about change through clinical care, education, research and advocacy.

Core work streams

The CHE brings together health equity experts whose initiatives align with our four core workstreams: Community Translation, Clinical Quality and Safety, Advocacy and Social Justice, and Research and Education. By creating and supporting programs committed to understanding the barriers to health equity, we work with our partners and colleagues to achieve our ultimate goal of ensuring every child in Philadelphia has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. Click here to learn more. 

Center leadership

The Center for Health Equity is led by Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to her new role as inaugural Senior Director of the center. She conducts some of the most innovative and progressive health equity work in our region.

She founded CHOP’s nationally renowned Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) and served as its medical director for more than 20 years. Her team has cared for thousands of children with asthma and has observed some striking disparities — including strikingly worse outcomes for Black children and children living in low-income neighborhoods.

Her work in launching CAPP+, an initiative which seeks to eliminate asthma triggers caused by structural defects in children’s homes, was made possible by funding from CHOP’s Healthier Together initiative. CAPP+ pays for repairs that remove mold, fix leaking plumbing and close gaps in roofs and walls, eliminating the asthma triggers responsible for worsening asthma symptoms.

Commitment to children

CHOP aspires to make the 1.5 million children of Philadelphia — including the more than 120,000 who currently live below the poverty line — among the healthiest children in the country. The launch of the Center for Health Equity is evidence of that commitment.

In establishing centralized infrastructure and resources to support this important work, the center invokes new synergies, innovation and collaboration within the hospital and with the communities CHOP serves. We strive to remove barriers so we can give each child what they need to achieve their best health. We accelerate and sustain interventions that advance equitable health and healthcare for children across the Philadelphia region.

For more information, email healthequitycenter@chop.edu.