Health Equity Resource Communities
Idea Category: 2025 Ideas Challenge, Improving Quality of Life
2025 Ideas Challenge Entry
The Health Equity Resource Communities (HERC) initiative is a statewide, community-based strategy to reduce health disparities and expand access to care in historically underserved neighborhoods. Established through the Maryland Health Equity Resource Act, HERC invests state resources into local coalitions that deliver health and social services where residents need them most.
The policy responds to a well-documented reality: where you live often determines how well—and how long—you live. Communities facing high rates of chronic disease, behavioral health challenges, and housing insecurity—often the result of systemic disinvestment and inequities—experience significantly worse health outcomes.
HERC is designed to change that by bringing services to residents where they are, using trusted local partners. One of the most impactful examples of the model is RICH 2.0, a HERC-funded initiative led by the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Backed by a $5 million grant, RICH 2.0 deploys nurse-led clinics, mobile health units, behavioral health support, and social services throughout West Baltimore. It tackles both medical needs—like hypertension and asthma—and upstream factors such as food access, housing stability, and employment.
The program also centers equity and cultural competency by training community ambassadors and embedding services in schools, recreation centers, and churches. By aligning state resources with community expertise, the HERC model ensures sustainable, scalable impact—and reflects the vision Senator Hayes outlined when championing this groundbreaking policy. HERC offers a powerful framework for transforming public health through place-based, people-powered innovation.
Impact or how it will be measured:
The program’s outcomes are being measured by tracking:
- Number of residents reached and services delivered.
- Reductions in chronic disease rates, preventable hospitalizations, and emergency room use.
- Improvements in access to primary care, behavioral health, housing, and social services.
- Community engagement through trained ambassadors and local partnerships.
These measures will demonstrate whether HERC is improving health outcomes, reducing disparities, and strengthening trust in the health system.
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