Every day, individuals from across our region walk through the doors of Advocate Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital—seeking care, participating in research, and placing their trust in our institution. But how well do we truly understand the communities they come from?
On June 12, 2025, Keena Moore with the CTSI Community & Stakeholder Research Engagement Program (C&SE) and Mariana Pardy with the WF NCORP Research Base (NCI Community Oncology Research Program) at the Department of Social Sciences & Health Policy, co-facilitated the C&SE Community Tour—an immersive experience designed to deepen understanding of the social, cultural, and environmental factors that shape the lives of our African American and Hispanic patients and research participants. With the facilitators’ guidance, faculty, research staff, and administrators from across the institution were able to reflect deeply on the importance of community context in both healthcare delivery and research engagement.
Purposeful Exploration
The tour offered a firsthand look at the neighborhoods, community-based organizations and historical markers surrounding our medical center, highlighting:
- Opportunities for growth that strengthens the infrastructure for effective community health care delivery.
- Barriers to care and research access faced by African American and Hispanic community members’ participating in life-changing translational research studies.
- A historical and socio-cultural understanding of the African American and Hispanic patient population.
- The environmental history of health among African American and Hispanic communities and its impact on their health and well-being
- A deep dive into the long-standing history of community resilience, advocacy and stewardship of the African American and Hispanic community that continue to inform and improve healthcare access and quality of care for their communities.
Participants stopped and exited at key community sites including the Bridges to HOPE Family Justice Center of Forsyth County, Community Care Center, El Rey Grocery Store, Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness (Senior Services & Hispanic League), S.G. Atkins Community Development Corporation / Winston-Salem State University’s Enterprise Center, and Una Bendición / A Blessing. Each stop and exit offered a unique lens into their organization’s history, service provision, and any opportunities for partnerships.
A Voice from the Past to Inform the Present and Guide the Future.
During lunch, attendees had the privilege of hearing from Mr. Michael Clements, a visionary leader whose contributions have shaped the landscape of community health in Winston-Salem. As the first Director of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Downtown Health Plaza and former Vice President for Community Investment at the Winston-Salem Foundation, Mr. Clements brought a wealth of historical insight and personal experience about the transformative journey of the health system, healthcare accessibility and affordability in Forsyth County and across the United States. Sharing the evolution of healthcare access in Winston-Salem was not only a compelling backdrop for the day’s journey—but also a powerful reminder of the enduring importance of access and trust in building healthier communities.
What We Heard, What We Felt
In a powerful debriefing session, participants were asked to describe their experience in one word. The responses formed a resonant word cloud:
These words weren’t just reflections—they were calls to action.
So What? Now What?
Participants shared how the tour reshaped their perspectives:
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“We must be more intentional in how we engage with the community.”
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“It’s not about setting the table—it’s about pulling up a seat with others.”
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“I realize now that I haven’t done enough—and I want to do more.”
From clinicians, researchers, research staff, and administrators the message was clear: to truly serve, we must first understand. That means being present in the community before there’s a need, partnering with trusted local organizations, and designing research and care plans that reflect the realities of people’s lives.
A Collective Commitment
Representatives from departments including Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Community Engagement, Family and Community Medicine, Government Affairs, Implementation Science, and Social Sciences and Health Policy came away with a renewed sense of purpose.
This tour was not just a journey through neighborhoods; it was a journey toward intentional partnerships, collaborations, and engagement. CTSI Community & Stakeholder Research Engagement Program is committed in continuing this kind of tours to build bridges, strengthen health system and care delivery, promote collaboration and partnership and advance the science of community-engaged research in the translational research space.