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In today’s threads I’ll be providing examples of how people are trying to change the dynamic of poor healthcare delivery in Black and Brown communities. I want to start with the example of Dr. Foluso Fakorede who works in the Mississippi delta. He grew alarmed at the lack of services available to treat poor Black people with diabetes which as I mentioned yesterday led to the amputation epidemic. 1/10
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Despite his efforts to order tests to better diagnose his patients, the hospital resisted his efforts to help his patients. Frustrated at the lack of support to help him help his patients, he took action on his own to save the lives and limbs of his Black patients. Read about him here: https://mississippitoday.org/2020/05/19/the-black-american-amputation-epidemic-black-patients-losing-limbs-at-triple-the-rate-of-others/ 2/10
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Black Maternal health was an issue raised yesterday. Concern about inadequate medical treatment for Black women re-invigorated the movement towards the use of Doulas and midwives. To educate yourselves on the history of doulas and midwives read this article from the Natl Museum of African American History. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-significance-doulas-and-midwives. In DC we call it the “Blacksonian.” 3/10
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Community Based Doula and Midwife services provide essential services to women in communities of color. You can read about the why here: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/community-based-doulas-midwives/ The article gives a good definition of the two services. And for an example of a local org see Bronx Doula Services: https://millionexperiments.com/projects/bronx-doula-services 4/10
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Another project is Ujima Medics in Chicago. #1MExperiemnets describes them as “a group of Black community organizers, activists, pastors, healthcare professionals, mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, cousins, and friends of African Descent in Chicago who offer training in Urban Emergency First Response, primarily to people who live in, or love people who live in communities where shootings often occur.” 5/10
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Ujima Medics started in 2014, after a personal tragedy of the co-founders involving gun violence and is still going strong. They give urban emergency first response training. And I love the statement on their web page: “We teach people to be heroes of their neighborhoods.” https://www.umedics.org/ They are teaching people to respond to their own needs, even when the govt can’t or won’t. 6/10
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I also want to highlight North By Northeast Community Health Center, founded by Pastor Mary Overstreet and Dr. Jill Ginsberg. After hurricane Katrina in 2005 Pastor Overstreet took it upon herself to help impacted folks in LA and TX. She paid for 40 hurricane survivors to relocate to Portland, where she supported a fresh start for them. 7/10
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Inspired by Overstreet’s story, Dr. Ginsberg wanted to help. The two women met and North by Northeast Health Center was born. They provide primary health care, including management of chronic health issues such as diabetes and high blood pressure. They are proof that even in medical services, ordinary people can create a significant community impact. https://nxneclinic.org/ 8/10
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Finally, on the issue of improving Black health by increasing the number of Black doctor, there are organizations working on increasing the flow of the pipeline. Of course, this issue is connected with one of the other factors for Black communities: poor access to quality educational experiences. As I pointed out before the factors that lead to instability in a community are all connected. 9/10
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I’ll deal with the educational issues in a different thread. But assuming you can get Black and Brown students through middle school and high school with the academic preparation they need, and then through the college level medical gatekeepers, here’s what people are doing for the pipeline: https://www.healthline.com/health/we-need-more-black-doctors-orgs-that-help In even the complex medical field we all can make a difference somewhere. Pick your spot and get to work. 10/10
@fulanigirl thank you for sharing this thread 