HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Eliminating racial health disparities is one of the NAACP’s many goals, and leaders want to make health care available, accessible and affordable. I’m here.
The same is true for hospital leaders here in the Tennessee Valley, who are working together to make meaningful change despite the challenges facing our region.
In the words of Tracy Doty, president and chief operating officer of Huntsville Hospital.
“The South generally lags behind when it comes to health care disparities, including obesity, rates of lung disease, and low birth weight,” she says.
But it’s a challenge Doughty is trying to tackle head-on. Especially since the NAACP says geography, income, and race are long-standing predictors of health outcomes for people of color. That’s not entirely surprising to Doughty.
“No, this statement is actually very true,” Doughty said. “People of color have a harder time getting health care. From our hospital perspective, we think it’s important that we be proactive and support them.”
Kyle Buchanan, president of Helen Keller Hospital and Red Bay Hospital, also part of the Huntsville Hospital System, explains their mission and collective efforts.
“As a hospital, as a health system, we want to make sure we are doing the right job and recruiting health care providers of color to our medical staff, nursing units, and other health care providers that reflect our community. We need to make sure that we can continue to do that, connect and understand what the challenges are,” Buchanan said.
When COVID-19 emerged, we all faced challenges, but the Black population was disproportionately affected.
The NAACP reports that 34% of COVID-19 deaths are among non-Hispanic blacks, but non-Hispanic blacks make up only 12% of the total U.S. population.
Doughty thinks he knows why.
“Access. Very few people had a family doctor who could vaccinate them,” Doughty said. “The majority of those working were essential workers. They were exposed because they were not furloughed home, which means they were working in an area where they were in close proximity to people at all times.”
Huntsville Hospital was one of the first in the country to take action, Doughty said, with mobile clinics, vaccinations and testing, and regular check-ins at homeless shelters, churches and community centers across the city. Is going.
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