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Texas Health Action: Strategic Plan Development
THE CLIENT
Texas Health Action
BACKGROUND
Texas Health Action (THA) is a community informed, non-profit organization dedicated to providing access to culturally affirming, quality health services in a safe and supportive environment. THA provides sexual health and behavioral health programs and services with an expertise in serving LGBTQIA+ people and those impacted by, or at risk of, HIV in Texas.
THE CHALLENGE
In 2021, THA underwent a merger that created a need for the development of a unified vision, direction, and business model to align and expand sexual health and behavioral health services. When THA began the process of creating a new strategic direction and priorities, HMA was engaged to support the development of a three-year strategic plan reflecting changes present in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world. The objective of the strategic planning process was to create a dynamic and actionable plan, while refining and reestablishing the organization’s Mission, Vision, Values and Beliefs.
APPROACH
Utilizing a collaborative and transparent process, HMA and THA used a four-component, collaborative, strategic planning approach with the following goals:
- Project initiation to confirm shared expectations for managing the project.
- Building a shared understanding to gain insight and develop meaningful strategic options including stakeholder input, strategic research, and data analysis, to be community and data-informed.
- Completing an environmental scan to gain a comprehensive external context for THA’s work, including conducting an internal analysis of existing resources, strengths, and challenges.
- Socialization by creating and communicating a shared vision of the future with all stakeholders.
THA developed a website to inform staff and the public about the strategic planning process and project as well as solicit feedback from stakeholders.
RESULTS
The final report was completed and presented in November 2021, carrying the organization from 20222027. The HMA team worked with THA to examine and update their Beliefs, Why, and Strategic Direction while aligning them with the existing Mission and Values. Most notably, the strategic plan and direction introduced and focused on the concept of health justice and centering health equity. The full plan will be released in the early fall of 2022.
Highlights of the plan include the following:
Our Why
Healthcare must be equitable and just to work for all people. For decades, achieving positive health outcomes has been a struggle among people of color and sexual minorities. Efforts to improve health are impeded by inequitable social structures, stereotypes, and systems that are not designed to consider racial and sexual minorities, queer culture, and the social determinants of health. We acknowledge that health justice is the attainment of health equity, actualized when structural factors no longer determine health outcomes. Thus, THA exists so people can access and receive the care they deserve.
Strategic Direction
A new component included in the strategic plan was to develop a Strategic Direction. For the organization, it was established to be “pursue health justice”, defined by the organization as the attainment of health equity, actualized when structural factors no longer determine health outcomes.
Our Mission
Texas Health Action is a community informed non-profit dedicated to providing access to culturally affirming, quality health services in a safe and supportive environment with an expertise in serving LGBTQIA+ people and people impacted by HIV.
Our Values
- Accountability for self and others
- Cultivate Trust in all our relationships
- Total Inclusion
- Drive Innovation
- Respect all
- Pursue Excellence
Our Beliefs
- Person-centered care integrates sexual, emotional, behavioral, and physical health
- Access to culturally competent, patient-centered, trauma informed, quality healthcare services is a human right
- Health justice emanates from being stigma free, having no-barriers, being inclusive, and engaging in intentional outreach & engagement
- Health equity requires outreach and services that are inclusive of orientation, identity, sero-status, race, ethnicity, location, or situation
- Client needs are met through innovation in care delivery and holding ourselves responsible to use resources and systems to meet client needs
- Health education and patient empowerment is fundamental to achieving wellness
- Treat patients and each other with respect and radical kindness
Behavioral health crises drive bipartisan action in Congress
Agreement about the severity of the nation’s mental health and substance use disorder crises is rising above the partisan politics in Congress. In fact, these are among a handful of issues driving work on bipartisan legislation across all the key House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over behavioral health programs and policies this year.
On May 18, the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved the “Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2022” (H.R. 7666). This legislation incorporates a collection of bipartisan bills to update and reauthorize over 30 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) programs addressing the mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) crisis. The bill also advances initiatives to strengthen the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline implementation efforts, invest in the crisis response continuum of care, and support strategic opioid crisis response plans among numerous other policies. Energy and Commerce is one of several House committees planning to advance behavioral health bills this year.
U.S. Senate committee leaders have been similarly engaged in developing bipartisan proposals to address mental health and substance use disorders. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and Finance committee leaders are expected to reveal their proposals as soon as this summer. The Finance Committee’s proposal will focus on Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) policies and could reflect findings from the committee’s report, “Mental Health Care in the United States: The Case for Federal Action.” Similarly, HELP members Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced the Mental Health Reform Reauthorization Act to extend several expiring mental health programs, which could be incorporated in that Committee’s comprehensive proposal. Across committees, there has been an interest in strengthening parity, supporting integration of primary and behavioral health care, increasing access to youth mental health screenings, scheduling fentanyl analogues, and easing requirements for prescribing Medication Assisted Treatment.
What To Expect
Congressional leaders have consistently expressed their desire to advance bipartisan legislation to address the urgent needs and gaps in the mental health and SUD care delivery systems, as well as support education and research. While these are key areas to watch, the diminishing number of legislative days on the congressional calendar and climate surrounding November’s mid-term elections create uncertainty for the timing and scope of Congress’ work. It remains to be seen whether a package of health care proposals, such as reauthorization of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s user fee programs, the Cures 2.0 legislation to advance biomedical research, mental health and substance use disorder legislation, and the PREVENT Act could be sent to President Biden’s desk before the end of September.
HMA companies are supporting clients impacted by the policy changes being discussed and the program funding addressed in these legislative proposals. Understanding the landscape for federal change allows state and local governments and stakeholders to plan for and shape these opportunities. For more information, please contact our experts below.
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