Three more clinical departments join PEACH 

by Michael J. Happy / PEACH Web Project Manager

The Program for Equity in Adolescent and Child Health (PEACH) continues to grow.

The Department of Learning Health Sciences, the Department of Radiology, and the Department of Family Medicine all recently committed to partner with and support PEACH for the next five years. 

With these additions, PEACH is now supported by 13 clinical departments/divisions in the School of Medicine, along with Mott Hospital, the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion, Poverty Solutions, and several other units at the University of Michigan.  PEACH also receives funding from the Children’s Foundation.

Under the direction of Drs. Gary Freed and Susan Woolford, both pediatricians at Mott, PEACH was launched in January 2023 to examine potential inequities in pediatric care within Michigan Medicine. If inequities are found using rigorous methods, PEACH then works to find solutions and address them. Functioning as a hub of resources, PEACH is designed to assist and empower faculty and staff to take the lead on studying and improving equity-related issues.

"The excitement and energy for PEACH continues to build," Freed said. "The number of engaged departments is exceeding all our expectations and will undoubtedly make a difference in the lives of a lot of kids and their families.”

To date, PEACH has taken on 30 projects, two of which have advanced all the way to the quality improvement stage.

"Understanding that it takes courage to explore potential inequalities, we optimistically hoped to receive 12 projects within the first year that we could undertake," Woolford said. "With more than double that number, we're thrilled that so many people at Michigan Medicine are concerned with child health equity issues and dedicated to making meaningful improvements in our health system.”  

PEACH leaders define inequity as differences in clinical treatment or patient/family experiences related to characteristics such as race and ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability status, language, weight status, income gradient and more. PEACH considers health inequities as generally inside the control of healthcare systems or individual providers.