BDHEA Releases Health Equity Playbook for Safety-Net Institutions
News related to:Black Directors Health Equity Agenda · 2 min read
CHICAGO, Sept. 22, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Black Directors Health Equity Agenda (BDHEA) has released a new Health Equity Playbook aimed at helping safety-net institutions turn community needs into actionable solutions.
The Playbook was created in response to a gap identified by BDHEA through its work across the broader healthcare ecosystem. While BDHEA's previous resources have addressed health systems, payors, pharmaceutical organizations, and other healthcare stakeholders, the organization recognized the need for a resource specifically tailored to the distinct realities of safety-net institutions.
Safety-net organizations play a critical role in delivering care to underserved and vulnerable populations. Collectively, community health centers provide medical, dental, behavioral health, vision, and other services to more than 52 million people nationwide, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers. These organizations often serve communities experiencing significant barriers to care while operating with fewer resources and tighter margins.
The Playbook is available on BDHEA's website, BDHEA.org, and will be offered without a paywall for a limited time to broaden access for board directors, healthcare leaders, and safety-net organizations seeking practical strategies to advance health equity.
BDHEA began developing the Playbook by listening to the needs of the safety-net ecosystem. The assessment identified challenges and promising practices across governance, funding, workforce, policy and regulatory pressures, patient access, technology and infrastructure, partnerships, and community engagement.
BDHEA convened a multidisciplinary Playbook Committee composed of board directors, healthcare executives, and program implementers from across the country to translate these learnings into practical guidance. The result is a Playbook designed to help leaders move from insight to action. It includes guidance on the importance of equity-centered governance and the business case for health equity, along with practical governance questions, measures, partnership strategies, and use cases that can be adapted to different organizational environments.
The Playbook builds on BDHEA's previous Health Equity Playbook, which was developed to help board directors bring a health equity lens into their governance roles and encourage leaders to more directly influence conversations regarding health equity. These resources are part of BDHEA's broader Health Equity Toolkit, which also includes an Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) guide and decarbonization action guide.
BDHEA will host a virtual webinar on September 30, 2026, at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET, to introduce the new Playbook and discuss the findings, development process, and recommendations. The interactive session will begin with remarks from Dr. Regina Benjamin, the 18th U.S. Surgeon General and BDHEA Founding Member, before exploring how community and stakeholder insights can move beyond assessments and listening sessions to influence governance priorities, strategic questions, measures, and action. Speakers who participated in the Playbook development process will discuss how BDHEA moved from research and stakeholder engagement to a practical resource for boards and healthcare leaders, including lessons for applying the approach across different safety-net environments.
PT / 3 p.m. ET WHERE: Virtual webinar WHO: Dr. Regina Benjamin, BDHEA Founding Member MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: The webinar will provide an opportunity for journalists to learn more about the Playbook and its development process. Media can register for the webinar by visiting the following link: https://tinyurl.com/3wpx6473