Yvette Walker
With KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker. This is IE Latino voices, where we invite representatives from Latino led and Latino serving organizations to share their stories and their impact in our region. Joining me today is Dr. Dora Barilla, President and Co-Founder of HC2 Strategies. Thank you so much for being with us today. Dr Barilla.
Dora Barilla
Thank you so much for having me, Yvette.
Yvette Walker
So Dr Barilla, please share the mission you have developed with the founding and leading as president of HC2 Strategies.
Dora Barilla
Well. HC2 Strategies was really founded on the premise of connection. So HC2 Strategies stands for healthy, connected communities, and it was really about looking at so much of the fragmentation in our health care and public health system. And so really, what HC2 was really to look at being mission driven and to pull together both the healthcare system, your community based organizations as well as your public health social service agencies.
Yvette Walker
So what has your research of underserved communities across America, particularly within the Latino community, unveiled?
Dora Barilla
Well, our work is really ongoing, so it's not just a one-time research. It's really looking at what are the needs of the community, and that's coupled with both data and stories and listening to communities. So it really is about listening. And the majority of our work is really in underserved, vulnerable populations that both have social complexity and clinical complexity. And so I think one of the things that we've really seen in the Latino community is one that they're growing, you know, it's such a fast rate, and that they're just a cornerstone to our communities. And I think one of the things is there's not one size. Doesn't fit all so you can't just paint it with a broad brush, but it's really helping individuals navigate through the systems, understand them, and know what services are available. You know, has really been, I think, one of the key insights and really helping people to know how to advocate for what they need and to be a part of the solution as well.
Yvette Walker
Talk about the importance of collaboration and bringing stakeholders to the table when implementing these strategies and long-term efforts to serve our community.
Dora Barilla
Yeah, so much of our work within HC2 Strategies has been around health system transformation. And you know, that really starts with the Medicaid or MediCal in California transformation. So pulling all the unique players to the table for collaboration is the only way that we're going to solve some of the challenges. And you know, it's really finding that balance. So, you know, we've seen it, whether it's in a what we call a collaborative planning and implementation for MediCal, or whether it's the Inland Empire Behavioral Health Collaborative, where all the health systems are coming together, you'll see multiple collaboratives around the Inland Empire as well as around the nation. And so bringing together the unique perspective. So you have to pull in not only the diversity in the community, but the hospitals, the clinics, you know, the social services, the public health entities, and knowing that everyone has a different view and a different perspective on how they think they can serve and then really identifying what's the right mechanism. How can we build new systems of care that are more efficient and that actually serve people with what they need, not what we think they need.
Yvette Walker
So how can the community learn more about your work and the landscape of their communities when considering existing or future initiatives?
Dora Barilla
I work across the nation, but I live in the Inland Empire and have for the past 35 years, and I'm a board member at the Inland Empire Community Foundation, and we're really excited, especially in a lot of the challenging times, to be launching what we're calling the Inland Empire Journalism Hub Plus Fund, and that'll be launching in the next couple of months. In addition to that, the Inland Empire Health Reporting Initiative. So this will be an opportunity for if you want to look on the Inland Empire Community Foundation's website, you can go ahead and see some of the information. And what that will be is really about building hubs of trusted information that is relevant to our local community. So it's really ensuring that we have non partisan factual information, as well as ensuring that our communities are better informed with the information. I think you know, looking at your local websites, your local hospitals have community health needs assessments, not necessarily look at my website to but to really look at your local community. You know that's being a part of the solution, to really help address some of the gaps that are happening and be a part of the solution.
Yvette Walker
That is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your time with us today. Dr. Barilla.
Dora Barilla
Thank you, Yvette, for having me.
Yvette Walker
Join us again next week for IE Latino Voices. You can find this story and others on our website at kvcrnews.org/Ie Latino voices. IE Latino Voices is produced by KVCR Public Media, and is funded by generous support from San Antonio Regional Hospital, Here for Life. For KVCR News, I'm Yvette Walker.
