This summer, reSET has hosted a series of well-attended workshops called Design Labs to help social entrepreneurs develop businesses that improve the quality and access to healthcare in our state.

We’ve invited some of our state’s leading healthcare providers, experts in healthcare, community-based organizations, students and aspiring business owners to help us inspire and support a new wave of entrepreneurship in health care within our state. Each event is designed to share information, resources, and inspire action amongst entrepreneurs.

At our latest event on Tuesday July 23, over 40 attendees participated in the fourth Design Lab, Knowledge is Power: Measuring the Health of CT Communities.

“Where you live has a significant impact on your health and longevity; your zip code may have a greater impact than you think regarding your health status.” said Shanon Mierzwa, Program Director at the Connecticut Association of Directors of Health (CADH).

The event focused on the Health Equity Index (HEI), which was developed over the past seven years by the Connecticut Association of Directors of Health through a grant from the Connecticut Health Foundation. The online tool was piloted between 2009 and 2013 in the cities of Hartford and New Haven and the town of Groton. The HEI incorporates data on health indicators and demographics that have been gathered from across the state and organized it in a way that illustrates health status along many dimensions and at fine levels of detail. The data reveal both challenges and opportunities for Connecticut’s communities, and have already been used for community health assessments, grant writing, workforce development, and stimulating neighborhood conversations.

“We wanted the HEI to help trigger dialogue so that people could have a common base of understanding to talk about the areas of mutual concern. So the reflected information could be used for policy making and innovation.” said Mierzwa. She also said that development of the HEI has been approached as a continuous quality improvement process, and welcomed feedback on ways it might be strengthened or enhanced.

Tuesday’s Design Lab was the first time the HEI was presented to the general public. reSET’s coworking space, where the event was held, was filled with community stakeholders; social entrepreneurs, community organizers, and policy makers, all eager to discuss the opportunities presented by the HEI, how the HEI might trigger conversations with and learning between community members, and how the information might inform future activities.

“The idea I found most prevalent was that everything circles back to health,” said Program Manager Rosie Gallant “it’s the one thing that ties us all together. Those feelings were well represented during the break-out discussions.”

reSET staff facilitated the break-out conversations and have compiled the results for our metrics which will be shared with CADH and the CT Health Foundation, a key participant in the Design Lab.

Event participants were offered full access to the Health Equity Index for a two-week period to navigate, learn, use, and offer suggestions on improving the tool to CADH.