Our Mission
The mission of the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin, Inc. is to improve
the health status of African Americans in the state of Wisconsin and to insure
equitable and comprehensive health for all people.
History
In 1984 at the Wisconsin Political Convention, the African American
community convened an agenda setting conference. A substantial number of
individuals, who participated in the health/ mental-health workshops, indicated they felt
that current health related activities at health fairs lacked significant
minority content. The outcome of the workshop on health was to establish the
Black Health Planning Council (BHPC).
The Black Health Planning Council (BHCP) was
formed to plan, organize and promote the dissemination of relevant
healthcare information to Milwaukee minority community. The ultimate goal
was improve the communities well-being.
In addition, the BHCP provided minority practitioners with an opportunity to
participate in health related activities. There were also opportunities to
participate in key services and/ or issues, which were presented at these health related events
that were geared toward minorities. The BHCP
was comprised of health professionals, and provided health information to the
community. In 1988, in was decided that there was a need for a more concerted
effort to develop an effective voice on health care issues. It was also decided
that a collaboration of professional and grassroots organizations would be
the most effective. Thus, Patricia McManus and Claude Gilmore, who facilitated
the original workshop in 1984, spearheaded the coming together of Black
organizations to establish a citywide coalition.
The Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin (BHCW) was incorporated in October 1988,
with twelve organizations. All of the organizations were required to sign a
memorandum of understanding that established their commitment to forming a black
health alliance for a change.
The founding organizations were the founding:
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Black Health Planning Council
-
Black Nurses' Association
-
Milwaukee Comprehensive Community Health
-
Metro Home Health Services
-
Wisconsin Association of Black Social Workers
-
Career Youth Development
-
Cream City Medical Society
-
Milwaukee Urban League
-
Black Pharmacist Association
-
New Concept Self Development Center
-
Black Lawyers Association
-
Human Services Triangle
Since that time, BHCW has grown to twenty-six organizations and 19 individual
members, all whom are African-American. The coalition is made up of health care
professionals, social service agencies, professional organizations, and
grassroots organizations.
Since its inception, the BHCW has been at the forefront of health issues that
have impacted African Americans and other underprivileged populations in the
state of Wisconsin. Whether issuing a Health Manifesto to public or private
officials, or rallying for equitable access to health care for minorities, the BHC has gained the reputation of being the voice for underprivileged populations
that go unheard all to often.
The Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin, Inc. (BHC) adopted the concerns of
the Health and Human Services' Secretary Task Force on Black and Minority Health
as its basis for concentration.
Guiding Principles
The Black Health Coalition operates using two primary guiding principals.
These principals are EMPOWERMENT and INCLUSION.
- Empowerment means that if there is sometime in the community that we
have the skills, knowledge, and access to sufficient resources, then we will
do it ourselves.
- Inclusions means that we recognize that we can do everything
ourselves and must rely on sources outside of our community. We however,
maintain the right to tell those who would work with us, how we want things
to be done.
The Coalition Services
The BHC has provided many services to the African American community and has
firsthand witnessed the impact in the following areas:
-
RESEARCH: Conduct research on the health
status of the African Americans in the state of Wisconsin - particularly
Milwaukee. Areas which have been researched, including infant mortality,
family resiliency, and cultural competency.
-
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: Provide assistance to
agencies in developing, implementing and evaluating their service delivery
system.
-
TRAINING/ EDUCATION: Provides individualized,
on-site, community health training to health and human services workers.
Specific tools have been developed to provide institutional assessments
measuring cultural competency among facilities providing services to persons
of colors, especially African Americans.
-
ADVOCACY: Develop policies and programs to
inform African Americans about the importance of the special health problems
they confront and what measures can be taken to improve health. Intercede
when necessary, to help them access the health care services needed.
The Projects
The BHCW currently operates five city coalitions:
- African American Mental Health Task Force
- The African American Task Force in HIV/AIDS
- The Milwaukee Tobacco Free Task Force/
Smoke Free Milwaukee Project
- Milwaukee Healthy Beginnings Consortium
- Health Access Task Force
The staff of BHCW works with each of these entities and their respective
funding sources to ensure that goals and objectives are met, program reports are
timely and accurate and that fiscal responsibilities are maintained.
