South Country Health Alliance is committed to advancing health equity and reducing disparities that exist. Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.
Our cross-functional Health Equity Committee developed our health equity strategic plan. This committee meets regularly to review our progress and discuss ways to continue to improve and advance our efforts even more.
As part of our health equity strategic plan, we focus our efforts on community engagement, member engagement, data, communications and being an inclusive organization.
More information about our goals and progress in these important areas can be found below. Click on the "+" or the blue banner to open the section.
We participate in health equity community engagement activities focused on health disparities impacting our member counties.
Progress in 2025: The HealthFinders Collaborative supported our community‑based outreach efforts aimed at helping members access care and maintain their health. This continued partnership focuses on connecting individuals and families to needed services — such as dental care, substance use support, and preventive health resources — through coordinated outreach, shared planning, and participation in community events. Together, we work to strengthen access to care, improve coordination, and respond to the evolving needs of our communities.
We were part of the Affordable Housing Action Team in 2025, which worked to raise awareness of housing instability and support coordinated community efforts to address housing needs in Steele County. Through collaboration with local organizations, cities, and service providers, the group focuses on strengthening partnerships, sharing information, and advancing solutions that support individuals and families experiencing housing challenges. Together, partners aim to improve both immediate assistance and long‑term housing stability for the community.
South Country participated in Community Health Advocacy Team (CHAT) efforts across Sibley, Meeker, and McLeod counties that focus on bringing community partners together to understand local health needs and support meaningful community engagement. Through shared learning, collaboration, and outreach activities, CHAT works to elevate community voices, strengthen partnerships, and promote inclusive participation. These efforts help inform local health priorities and support ongoing work to improve access, equity, and well‑being across the communities served.
Maternal Health Community Events were a major health equity focus in 2025, supported by Minnesota Department of Health Perinatal Innovation Grant. South Country hosted three in‑person regional events and one virtual event, delivering culturally responsive education on nutrition, mental health, and postpartum well‑being. South Country provided transportation support, interpretation, childcare reimbursement, and on‑site enrollment in the Delfina app, which offers virtual doula support, mental health resources, and pregnancy tracking. Participant’s feedback was consistently positive about the events. The initiative concluded with a virtual session in September 2025, expanding access for members unable to attend in person and reinforcing South Country’s commitment to equitable maternal health education.
South Country participated in the System Design Clinic – Homelessness Response in September 2025, a two‑day regional effort facilitated by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The clinic focused on strengthening the local homelessness response system through governance alignment, performance measurement, funding strategy review, and prioritization planning. Outcomes included shared understanding of crisis response best practices, data‑driven decision‑making, and coordinated next steps for system redesign and long‑term planning.
We enhance our member engagement in health equity by improving opportunities to collect member perspectives for ongoing direction and evaluation.
Progress in 2025: We made progress by gathering member‑centered feedback through our Member Advisory Committee and Rural Stakeholders meetings.
Provider network promotes opportunities to engage with providers on health equity and communication initiatives.
Progress in 2025: Our website has information on cultural competency that we promote to our providers through our provider newsletter. Provider network also posts information on our website as provider news and bulletins and shares additional health equity and training resources from Minnesota Health Care Programs and the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
We identify new ways to capture and store health equity/social determinants of health (SDOH) data to drive initiatives that close gaps in health outcomes.
Progress in 2025: We interviewed internal subject matter experts to gather requirements for our ongoing development strategy of creating shared dashboards of SDOH data to develop initiatives that improve health equity for members. We have combined SDOH data sources to get a comprehensive picture of the number of members, by county, that have SDOH needs. Data sources include claims and standardized surveys distributed to members.
We ensure that the health equity committee goals and outcomes are more broadly communicated among the organization and external stakeholders.
Progress in 2025: We continue to update our internal intranet page that provides information on our health equity goals, data, and outcomes for our team members. Additionally, our external webpage is updated with information at least annually.
We create ongoing opportunities for staff to engage and train in health equity topics.
Progress in 2025: South Country celebrated a flavorful adventure through its Cultural Potluck where employees shared dishes and items that represent their culture and participated in a “Pin Your Heritage” activity to show where their heritage originates by placing pins on a world map.
Our new hire orientation education includes a program on unconscious bias and diversity and inclusion at work. Employees also had the option to attend programs on reframing aging presented by the Minnesota Council on Aging and University of Minnesota.
