New resource provides practical, data-informed guidance to help boards and healthcare leaders strengthen safety-net organizations serving millions of patients nationwide
CHICAGO, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Black Directors Health Equity Agenda (BDHEA), a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity through healthcare governance, today announced the release of its newest Health Equity Playbook, a practical resource designed specifically for boards and healthcare leaders at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), community health centers (CHCs), public hospitals, rural healthcare access points and other safety-net institutions.
The Playbook, “Governing for Healthier Communities: A Governance Playbook for Board Leaders Driving Community Health Excellence,” was created in response to a gap BDHEA identified through its work across the broader healthcare ecosystem. While BDHEA’s previous resources have addressed health systems, payors, pharmaceutical organizations and other healthcare stakeholders, the organization recognized the need to develop a resource specifically responsive to the distinct realities of safety-net institutions.
Safety-net organizations are critical to underserved communities, providing essential healthcare services in communities that often face significant barriers to care. However, these organizations frequently operate with tight financial margins and unique challenges around workforce, operations, policy changes, and technology.
“Safety-net institutions are essential to the health of communities across the country, but the operational and governance strategies that work for larger healthcare organizations cannot always be applied in the same way,” said Deborah Phillips, BDHEA Executive Director. “We wanted to create a resource that recognized those realities and gave board directors and healthcare leaders practical tools to connect what their communities need with the decisions being made in the boardroom.”
The Playbook is available on BDHEA’s website, BDHEA.org, and will be offered without a paywall for a limited time to broaden access for board directors, healthcare leaders, and safety-net organizations seeking practical strategies to advance health equity.
From Listening to Action
BDHEA began developing the Playbook by listening. Beginning in 2024, the organization conducted a national Needs Assessment, “Examining the Landscape: Understanding Challenges in Community-Based Healthcare,” combining research and survey data with in-depth interviews with more than 40 leaders across the safety-net ecosystem, including representatives from health systems, FQHCs, community health centers, public health agencies, payors, nonprofits, trade organizations, pharmaceutical companies and startups working with community-based healthcare organizations.
The assessment identified challenges and promising practices across governance, funding, workforce, policy and regulatory pressures, patient access, technology and infrastructure, partnerships and community engagement. It also highlighted opportunities for leaders to strengthen strategic alignment, incorporate partnerships to address social drivers of health, use technology thoughtfully and develop more sustainable models of care.
BDHEA convened a multidisciplinary Playbook Committee composed of board directors, healthcare executives and program implementers from across the country to translate learnings into practical guidance. The result of their work is a Playbook designed to help leaders move from insight to action. It includes guidance on the importance of equity-centered governance and the business case for health equity, along with practical governance questions, measures, partnership strategies, and use cases that can be adapted to different organizational environments.
“The measure of this Playbook’s success is not the number of people who read it,” said Sana Imam, BDHEA Operations Manager for the Playbook. “It is whether it changes conversations in boardrooms, influences decisions and ultimately contributes to healthier communities. We want leaders to leave this Playbook asking a different question. Not simply, ‘Do disparities exist in our communities?’ Rather: ‘What decisions are within our control that could change them?'”
The Playbook builds on BDHEA’s previous Health Equity Playbook, which was developed to help board directors bring a health equity lens into their governance roles and encourage leaders to more directly influence conversations regarding health equity. These resources are part of BDHEA’s broader Health Equity Toolkit, which also includes an Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) guide and decarbonization action guide.
Why the Safety-Net Matters
FQHCs, CHCs and other safety-net institutions play a critical role in delivering care to underserved and vulnerable populations. Collectively, community health centers provide medical, dental, behavioral health, vision and other services to more than 52 million people nationwide, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.
Because these organizations often serve communities experiencing the greatest barriers to care while operating with fewer resources and tighter margins, their boards and leaders face a unique set of decisions about how to allocate resources, strengthen the workforce, improve access, build partnerships, adopt technology and respond to changing policy and community needs.
The Playbook is intended to help leaders navigate those decisions while strengthening the connection between community needs and board-level priorities around strategy, quality, workforce, investment, partnerships and resources.
Join BDHEA for a Playbook Launch Webinar
BDHEA will host a virtual webinar on September 30, 2026, at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET, to introduce the new Playbook and discuss the findings, development process and recommendations. The interactive session will begin with remarks from Dr. Regina Benjamin, the 18th U.S. Surgeon General and BDHEA Founding Member, before exploring how community and stakeholder insights can move beyond assessments and listening sessions to influence governance priorities, strategic questions, measures, and action. Speakers who participated in the Playbook development process will discuss how BDHEA moved from research and stakeholder engagement to a practical resource for boards and healthcare leaders, including lessons for applying the approach across different safety-net environments.
WHAT: “Leading Health Equity in the Boardroom: Turning Strategy into Action”
WHEN: Wednesday, September 30 at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET
REGISTRATION: https://tinyurl.com/3wpx6473
Media Contact
Marjorie Korn, BDHEA Communications Manager
Marjorie.Korn@bdhea.org
202-213-3742
About BDHEA
Founded in 2020, the Black Directors Health Equity Agenda (BDHEA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the first and only national entity led by board directors and senior healthcare leaders committed to eliminating health disparities through governance leadership. Today, BDHEA comprises a network of more than 600 board members, senior leaders, educators, and volunteers. Through national convenings, toolkits, and policy advocacy, the BDHEA equips leaders to translate data into action and boardrooms into engines for equity. Its flagship resources—including the Directors Playbook and Health Equity Toolkits—support governance strategies that drive measurable, lasting change in areas including healthcare access, affordability, treatment, and outcomes. Learn more at BDHEA.org.
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SOURCE Black Directors Health Equity Agenda
