We partner with nonprofit organizations, community residents with lived experiences, and BJC HealthCare's Community Health Improvement team to convene, support, and lead efforts that address individual health needs and systemic barriers to health equity. Your gift funds community programs designed to eliminate health disparities in under-resourced communities in the City of St. Louis, North St. Louis County, and rural areas. Together, we can give all people the opportunity to live their healthiest possible lives.

School Health and Wellness

With support from our donors, BJC Community Health Improvement partners with more than 50 schools and five community organizations to advance equitable health and educational outcomes through BJC's Community Wellness Hub program. The hubs offer families, adults, and children a trusted a safe place for respite, mental wellness programming, and resource connection year-round. Your philanthropic support will empower thousands of families with coping methods to improve their mental wellness each year.

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Healthy Eating Active Living

Thousands of St. Louis neighbors face food insecurity and are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes each year. Through BJC's Healthy Eating Active Living initiative, we work to reduce the prevalence of chronic conditions by improving access to healthy food and providing health education. Philanthropic support advances critical BJC programs that provide food, nutrition education, access to safe spaces for physical activity, and social support to patients and their families to create long-term healthy habits.

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Improving Black Infant and Maternal Health Outcomes

Missouri has the seventh highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, with Black women 3.5 times as likely to die during pregnancy or from complications arising during childbirth compared to white women. With support from donors like you, BJC HealthCare is working to eliminate racial disparities by collaborating with community-based doulas and building clinical care teams that reflect the community it serves to help improve equity in maternal health outcomes.

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Equitable Vaccinations and Screenings

Vaccines and screenings play a pivotal role in saving lives, yet vaccination rates continue to fall below targets set by Healthy People 2030. Generous donors make it possible for BJC HealthCare to provide free flu vaccinations, year-round screening events, and other preventative services in under-resourced communities.

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New Responsive Initiatives 

Health equity is about everyone having an equal opportunity to be as healthy as possible. That means addressing the systems and structures that stand in the way of optimal health. Your support will enable us to address emerging community needs (e.g., housing security, gun safety and violence reduction, digital divide, etc.).

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Search the documents below to learn more about the areas that interest you. Discover how your generosity enriches lives, saves lives, and transforms health care.

Meet Harry Ratliff

Tuesday, September 05, 2023

Harry Ratliff has been a strong advocate for health care through volunteering and board memberships for over 20 years. He’s continuing this mission in his new position on the board of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Harry Ratliff works to make the world a better place.

A wealth management advisor with over 30 years of experience, Harry is no stranger to helping people weigh their options to make the best decisions for their families. Just as he educates his clients about financial opportunities, Harry believes in educating the community about their health care options when dealing with serious health issues. “That’s just part of our mission to let people know we’ve got some of the best people in the world right here in St. Louis,” he says, referring to Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

Harry is no stranger to Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s skill in providing expert care for serious health issues. Harry’s first wife, who has passed, was an oncology nurse practitioner at Siteman Cancer Center and had a double lung transplant at the hospital in 2003.

Harry is proud of the work being done by the physicians at Barnes-Jewish, and he’s looking forward to elevating educational outreach as a new board member. “I want to expand our educational and outreach activities in the community to let people know that we have a first-class, a world-class, hospital right here in St. Louis,” he says. “People come from all over the world to get treatment here. So people in the St. Louis metropolitan area have access to excellent care right here in their own community.”

In addition to serving on the Foundation’s board, Harry is also a director for Mid-America Transplant and a trustee of the Missouri Historical Society. He’s a former board member of both Christian Hospital, which is a part of BJC HealthCare, and People’s Health Centers. “Access to first-class, high-quality health care is a necessity for all families, and we are very fortunate in St. Louis to have that quality of care here,” Harry says.

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