Central Mass. health leaders see pandemic unveiling racial inequity
Minority groups have always been disproportionately affected by health problems — it's just that the coronavirus pandemic has made those disparities more clear than ever, Central Massachusetts health leaders said in an online forum hosted by UMass Memorial Health Care on Thursday.
The pandemic has hit minority populations harder than most, panelists said, blaming that fact in large part on health systems that haven't properly cared for people whose day-to-day challenges — lower-wage jobs, poorly funded schools or lack of access to nutritious food — already make healthy living a challenge. Compounding that, panelists said, are health systems that don't do enough to make up for those existing hurdles.
"Sadly, I know we often miss that mark," said Dr. Eric Dickson, the president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care.
Dickson, who has been among the area's most outspoken business leaders on racial equality, listed off instances where health outcomes aren't equal: hypertension that's more common in Black men than white, for example, or minorities getting coronavirus at rates nearly three times higher than white people. "That's not right," he said.
Dickson was asked: can those systemic problems be fixed?
"Yes, but we're not going to fix it all at once," Dickson said. "Unfortunately, there's not a vaccine under development for racism."
Dr. Tayyaba Salman, a hospitalist at UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital and a member of its minority advisory council, said that she, too, has seen — and been surprised by — how often conscious or unconscious biases can play a role in how health providers give care.
Dr. Matilde Castiel, Worcester's commissioner of health and human services, likewise sees long-term and deeply rooted factors, including a lack of diversity in business leadership, contributing to unequal health outcomes. Too many Worcester institutions, she said, are led by white men whose life experiences can't fairly account for those of minorities.
Other panelists included U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, a Worcester Democrat, and Dr. Sarai Rivera, Worcester city councilor and chair of the council's committee on public health.
People of different racial or ethnic backgrounds have long had different health outcomes based on so-called social determinants, McGovern said, such as access to healthy food and reliable housing that can be just as important as regularly seeing a doctor. The pandemic has shined a light on these inequalities that have long existed, he said.
"This is nothing new," McGovern said. "It's just been made worse through the pandemic."
Rivera also sees that playing out locally. "The reality is that people are dying unnecessarily," she said, adding: "We've been waiting for this opportunity, for changes to occur."
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