Announcing the Loyola Chicago Health Equity Quest
Loyola University Chicago’s Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health and MATTER launched the 2022 Loyola Chicago Health Equity Quest on August 2, 2022.
The competition will advance innovative solutions that address health disparities and climate change and prepare them for the Live Pitch on October 27, 2022.
Climate change poses detrimental threats to public health, and its effects are exacerbated for certain communities based on factors such as socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, gender, and access to care. We are therefore called to invite innovators to help answer the question:
How might we empower communities with innovative solutions to address health disparities and climate change?
From developing more sustainable products and processes to providing care to those affected by climate change, the U.S. healthcare system plays a vital role in accelerating progress to combat climate change. Loyola and MATTER invite innovators across industries and disciplines to submit forward-thinking and creative solutions, ideas, or concepts for technologies, methodologies, and services that create more sustainable health delivery or reduce or treat the health effects of climate change.
“At the Parkinson School, we are called to take action to ensure all communities achieve their full potential for healthy lives,” said Elaine Morrato, DrPH, MPH, CPH, founding dean and professor of Loyola University Chicago’s Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health. “We are leveraging our partnership with MATTER to accelerate innovative solutions that will address health inequities in communities exacerbated by climate change.”
Up to 10 finalists will be selected from the application pool to participate in a two-week sprint. During the sprint, they will meet with Loyola University Chicago and MATTER teams and mentors to hone in on their value proposition, work to advance their solution and prep for the Live Pitch on October 27, 2022. During the Live Pitch, finalists will pitch their solutions to the public including corporate organizations, investors and more for a chance for up to three teams to split $75,000.
“MATTER is committed to helping make health more accessible and equitable for all,” said Steven Collens, CEO of MATTER. “This competition will help us generate, surface and support solutions to reduce the burden that climate change has on the health of underrepresented communities.”
Attend a panel discussion
Learn more about the competition on Thursday, September 1 at Care for our World: Intersecting Health Equity and Rapid Climate Change. The panel event invites health entrepreneurs to innovate for healthier lives in a world increasingly impacted by climate change and to submit their ideas to the Loyola Chicago Health Equity Quest.