Alameda Health System (AHS) has received the 2025 Quality Leaders Award in the equity category from the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH) and the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI). The award recognizes AHS for its efforts to involve members of the Black community in designing solutions to improve breast cancer screening rates.
After breast cancer screening rates among AHS patients dropped below national benchmarks following the COVID-19 pandemic, AHS formed a multidisciplinary workgroup. This group implemented several quality initiatives that raised overall screening rates above the 75th percentile nationally over three years. Despite this progress, screening rates among Black patients remained lower than desired.
“We realized quickly that traditional approaches weren’t enough,” said Natalie Curtis, MD, medical director of value-based care. “To truly eliminate disparities, we had to rethink how we design care.”
Dr. Curtis and Jaime Martin, manager of value-based care, decided on targeted strategies for specific populations. They collaborated with U. Mini B. Swift, MD, chief mission integration officer, and Angela Ng, MD, director of care experience, to launch a pilot program inviting community members and patients most affected by low screening rates to help co-design a solution. With support from Pfizer funding, they established the Black Patient Care Initiative (BPCI), which worked alongside the AHS Mammography Workgroup to address these challenges.
“Guided by liberatory design, we built a team that prioritized relationships and capacity-building with patients and community members before jumping to solutions,” said Dr. Ng.
Based on input from BPCI members about their experiences, an outreach campaign was developed. The “Get Screened for Life” campaign was created collaboratively by patients, community members, and staff to encourage breast cancer screening as an act of self-care. Launched in early 2025, it included social media outreach, signage at facilities, printed materials distributed in communities, and mailings.
“We’ve moved from designing for patients, to designing with them,” said Dr. Swift. “Inspired by previous effective co-design in AHS, we’re now expanding and elevating this approach across our entire system.”
AHS CEO James Jackson emphasized that the award highlights the organization’s focus on advancing equity through collaboration with local partners: “This recognition belongs to our patients, our community partners, and the staff who listened deeply,” Jackson said. “The campaign shows what can happen when a health system doesn’t just speak to the community, but builds with the community.”
The award was presented on December 4 at CAPH and SNI’s annual conference. The Quality Leaders Awards have recognized public health systems’ efforts toward healthier communities for more than two decades.
Alameda Health System operates hospitals and clinics throughout Alameda County and provides a range of medical services including acute care hospitals and trauma centers.
