Podcast Summary: Advancing Health Equity and Community-Based Care at UI Health with Rani Morrison Williams

Podcast: Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Host: Laura Deardo (B)
Guest: Rani Morrison Williams (C), Chief Diversity and Community Health Equity Officer, UI Health
Date: February 18, 2026

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode spotlights UI Health’s pioneering efforts to advance health equity and community-focused care under the leadership of Rani Morrison Williams. The conversation covers UI Health’s unique position in Chicago, their innovative domestic violence response partnership, strategic responses to Medicaid policy changes, and the challenges and creative paths forward in addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) in a resource-constrained environment.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. UI Health’s Unique Position and Mission

• UI Health is an academic medical center in Chicago’s Illinois Medical District, uniquely positioned as:
  • The only academic medical center in Illinois with a Federally Qualified Health Center (Miles Square) [01:16].
  • A diverse payer mix, with approximately 50% Medicaid patients, emphasizing their health equity mission.
  • Rani’s background: nearly 12 years at UI Health, a licensed clinical social worker, and current oversight of health equity, diversity and inclusion, community relations, care coordination, and social work [01:16–02:59].

2. On-Site Domestic Violence Response Program

• Initiative Launch: UI Health partnered with Wings, a nonprofit, to provide 24/7 domestic violence response on-site, the first hospital partnership for Wings [03:15].
  • Services include housing support, transportation, alternate communication, and personal support, as well as staff/faculty training.
  • Over 150 referrals in the last quarter of 2025 alone (double from prior months), highlighting underreported need and program impact [04:45].
  • The program not only supports patients but also staff, students, and the broader campus community.
• Memorable Quote:

  “Domestic violence does not have a particular face or location. And so this partnership has allowed us to really deepen our offering and our understanding and be able to support not just our patients, but the broader campus community in a very meaningful way.” – Rani Morrison Williams [04:21]

3. Lessons Learned: Beyond Screening for DV and SDOH

• The unexpected surge in referrals revealed a significant underreporting issue—routine screenings were not capturing the full scope of domestic violence.
• Rani emphasized the need for deeper training and readiness, as disclosures rarely happen during triage; support must be available throughout care [06:30].
• Notable Quote:

  “Maybe those screenings are not telling the whole story. And as providers, we need to be more comprehensive and available to make sure that when a patient may feel comfortable disclosing, it might not be at the screening. It may be later in the interaction... we need to make sure that we have resources and the training to provide that support whenever the need shows up.” – Rani Morrison Williams [07:03]

4. 2026 Priorities: Navigating Medicaid Changes

• Upcoming community engagement requirements for Medicaid (effective Jan 2027) mean anticipated coverage losses and a pivotal preparation year for UI Health.
• Strategies focus on education, communication, and financial planning to buffer against a likely decrease in Medicaid-covered patients—potentially leading to more uninsured individuals [08:11–09:34].
• Illinois’ earlier experience with Medicaid for undocumented persons (terminated in 2025 due to state funding) serves as a “dry run” for navigating these changes [10:19].

5. Demonstrating ROI on SDOH in Resource-Limited Times

• Most of Rani’s areas, like health equity and care coordination, are not revenue-generating, making it challenging to justify continued investment when “resource constrained” [12:48].
• The SDOH work is essential yet “deprioritized at a national level”; continued effort is required to show impact and ROI—both hard (e.g., reduced no-shows) and soft (e.g., improved safety/quality of life) [12:48–14:36].
• Notable Quote:

  “How do we leverage this program to reduce no-show rates? So continuing to deliver an ROI around whatever we can...so that we aren't at risk of having to lose anything that's so important to our patients and getting them here and keeping them in care.” – Rani Morrison Williams [13:33]

6. Communicating Value to Leadership

• Sharing data and stories is critical for visibility and advocacy:
  • Example: Outpatient transportation program reduced the no-show rate by 30% among enrolled patients—a concrete ROI to present to leadership [15:05].
  • Some impacts, like improving safety for DV survivors, are harder to quantify but equally important to communicate through patient stories.
• Notable Quote:

  “What we can prove with data and what we can show with stories...That’s what we have to be creative around and make sure that we’re sharing it at every turn.” – Rani Morrison Williams [16:35]

7. Opportunities for Growth: Creativity, Ambulatory Expansion & Tech Adoption

• UI Health aims to expand ambulatory care footprint across Chicago and beyond [17:16].
• Opportunities identified in telehealth, behavioral health programs, and maximizing the advanced practice workforce (APRNs, PAs) to expand access [17:45].
• Cautious but realistic embrace of AI and technology to drive efficiency and decision-making in a resource-challenged environment [18:28].
• Notable Moment:

  “AI is here. It is something that we definitely have to continue to adopt and be thoughtful around.” – Rani Morrison Williams [18:35]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Domestic violence does not have a particular face or location. And so this partnership has allowed us to really deepen our offering and our understanding and be able to support not just our patients, but the broader campus community in a very meaningful way.” – Rani Morrison Williams [04:21]
• “Maybe those screenings are not telling the whole story...we need to make sure that we have resources and the training to provide that support whenever the need shows up.” – Rani Morrison Williams [07:03]
• “We've got to continue to show ROI around addressing social determinants of health...so that we aren't at risk of having to lose anything that's so important to our patients...” – Rani Morrison Williams [13:33]
• “Our outpatient transportation program...reduced their no show rate by 30%. That's significant.” – Rani Morrison Williams [15:05]
• “What we can prove with data and what we can show with stories...That’s what we have to be creative around and make sure that we’re sharing it at every turn.” – Rani Morrison Williams [16:35]
• “AI is here. It is something that we definitely have to continue to adopt and be thoughtful around.” – Rani Morrison Williams [18:35]

Conclusion

Rani Morrison Williams provided a transparent, data-driven perspective on the complex challenges and innovative solutions required to sustain health equity and community-based care today. The conversation highlighted the necessity of creativity, flexible strategy, and persistent communication of value—both measurable and immeasurable—to maintain and grow patient-centered programs in a shifting healthcare landscape.

Timestamps for Key Segments:

• Introduction & UI Health overview: [01:16–02:59]
• Domestic violence response program: [03:15–05:50]
• Lessons learned from DV program: [06:30–08:02]
• Medicaid policy changes & prep: [08:11–10:19]
• Financial planning & ROI challenges: [12:48–14:36]
• Communicating value to leadership: [15:05–16:35]
• Growth & innovation opportunities: [17:16–18:35]