Leadership and Empowerment for Access to Programs (LEAP) member Clayton Kellum joined James Logan, Coatesville City Manager, and Jermaine Thomas, LEAP organizer, at the LEAP for Coatesville Run in May. Kellum suggested the run as the initiative's inauguration to the community it serves.
Coatesville, PA, is a special place.
Not only has the city recently gained national recognition as the production base of HBO’s Mare of Easttown, it also has deep rooted history in America’s industrial revolution. Unfortunately, due to centuries of inequities, residents of Coatesville on average are disadvantaged in both wealth and health compared to some other communities in Chester County, PA, the state's wealthiest county. Chester County Hospital is working to bridge the gap in health found in this community, thanks to partnerships with its local businesses and residents.
While Chester County Hospital has many longstanding community partnerships across the county, there have been historically fewer collaborators in neighborhoods with larger minority populations, including Coatesville, where 75 percent of residents are people of color and the median household income is $45,000 — less than half of what it is across the rest of Chester County.
Nurturing a Reliable Presence in Coatesville
Timmy Nelson, CCH Board of Directors Member
When the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020, Chester County Hospital embarked on a grassroots campaign to ensure equitable access to vaccines. The vaccine effort, which was spearheaded by Timmy Nelson, a member of the hospital's Board of Directors, was formally commended by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Nelson, among others at the hospital, employed one of the strategies originally intended to address the disparities outlined in the hospital's community health needs assessment — personally reaching out to influential people and organizations in Chester County's underserved communities. They asked them for help hosting a vaccination clinic or recruiting people to come to the hospital to be vaccinated.
In February, early in the campaign, Jermaine Thomas, a barber and marketer in Coatesville, and a group of fellow community leaders from Coatesville, PA met with Nelson and Michele Francis, MS, RD, CDCES, LDN, director of the hospital's Community Health & Wellness Services. Thomas immediately moved into action, and arrived at the hospital with several friends for vaccinations the next week.
"There was real synergy throughout that meeting. Jermaine and his colleagues had a lot of ideas, and they were eager to put them into action," Francis says.
From that informal session grew a new committee called Leadership and Empowerment for Access to Programs (LEAP). Comprised of Coatesville business owners (including Thomas), council people, and residents, the intent of LEAP is to "promote high-quality healthcare, wellness, and educational, health-focused services in the Coatesville area," Nelson says.
LEAP introduced itself to Coatesville in May with a two-mile run and walk. The event was sponsored by the hospital through a Penn Medicine CAREs Grant. In June, LEAP hosted a meet-and-greet that drew about 50 people. It is important to note, Nelson says, that while the hospital is a member of LEAP, both events were presented by the organization, not the hospital.
Residents throughout the city of Coatesville joined LEAP for is inaugural run and walk.
"I think one of the main reasons business owners and government officials in Coatesville have been so receptive to us so far is because we're not coming in and trying to take over," Nelson says.
In fact, Nelson and Francis haven't limited community outreach to LEAP. This summer, they also met with the West Chester Ministerial Alliance and Minnie McNeil, director of the W.C. Atkinson Memorial Community Services Center in Coatesville. They also engaged local church groups, which ultimately enabled the hospital to stage two large vaccination clinics in Coatesville.
Clinics like those helped facilitate the progress that has been made this summer, Nelson says.
"Through the vaccine clinics, we proved to the community—and ourselves—that, working together, we can make things happen," he says.
While the early results are encouraging, there’s still much work to be done. For his part, Nelson says he’s focused on actions. "A consistent presence is how we're going to continue to build trust in Coatesville, but it's not a one-way street. We'll keep listening and meeting the needs as they’re expressed to us, but we need the residents of Coatesville to show up for our programs and screenings. That's how this becomes a true collaboration," Nelson says.
Francis emphasized the "our part" of the sentiment. She notes that there are at least 70 service agencies operating in Coatesville.
"With that in mind, it really is all about collaboration," Francis says. "We're here to support those existing organizations and do whatever is asked of us to improve awareness of and access to programs that improve the health and well-being of Coatesville residents."
