BIDMC Grant Helps Promote Health Literacy

Chelsea Community Connections Receives BIDMC Grant to Support Women’s Health Workshops

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) selected Chelsea Community Connections (CCC) to receive funding as part of our commitment to supporting impactful initiatives in our communities.

Working alongside our CCC partners, BIDMC aims to improve health care outcomes by providing local residents with the tools and information they need to make better decisions about their health.

A Focus on Women’s Health

Part of the Chelsea Healthy Neighborhood Initiative, CCC hosts monthly workshops covering a wide range of women’s health topics, including heart health, menopause awareness, and sexual and reproductive health.

“Bystander CPR can make a big difference for patients,” said Dr. Pablo Quintero, a cardiologist at BIDMC who recently led a wellness workshop on CPR. “We see it on the receiving end. When someone gets efficient CPR before getting to the hospital, outcomes could be better.”

Open to all members of the public, workshops are held in both English and Spanish, making them accessible to individuals from throughout Chelsea’s diverse linguistic communities.

These events are designed to:

• Increase the public’s knowledge on women’s health issues.
• Reduce the stigma attached to women’s health.
• Encourage residents to advocate for their own health.
• Decrease social isolation in the community.

This initiative has been extremely popular among Chelsea residents; events have been well attended, and the overwhelming majority of those surveyed said they will use the information to make changes in their lives. Others said the workshops helped foster a sense of community.

“I was pretty new to Chelsea,” said one workshop participant. “[The workshops were] very welcoming. I felt like I belonged to the community again, meeting people and making some really new connections.”

How BIDMC and CCC Promote Health Literacy

The CCC grant was part of BIDMC’s Community-based Health Initiative. Funding helped support the wellness workshops, while local BIDMC providers also pitched in to host some of the events. Their expertise equipped attendees with the latest research-backed women’s health information.

BIDMC’s support for CCC is part of a broader effort to improve health outcomes by promoting health literacy.

Many communities struggle to access and use health care information, especially where English isn’t spoken as a first language. In Chelsea, which has a large Spanish-speaking population, it’s common for residents to feel uncomfortable approaching their doctors for professional health care guidance. The result is that patients often don’t get the care they need, and they’re more likely to experience problems from conditions that were treatable if detected early.

“When you speak their language,” Dr. Quintero said, “people feel more comfortable asking questions and reporting their symptoms, and it just is so much easier for them to express and understand [health guidance in] their own language.” Dr. Quintero also heads the Latinx Cardiovascular Clinic, which provides culturally sensitive cardiovascular services to Spanish-speaking patients in both Chelsea and Boston.

By supporting organizations like Chelsea Community Connections and funding bilingual health care workshops, our goal is to provide residents with the information they need to make better-informed decisions about their health, increasing their quality of life and promoting community progress.