As we continue to reflect upon 2022, shortly before the holiday season, Trexin’s Health Equity Co-Lead, Dylan Azadi, attended “Race and Health Equity Town Hall: Perspectives from Chicago’s West Side” at Malcolm X College on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. This event was sponsored by Wellness West, a non-profit organization that focuses on establishing continuity of care by connecting hospitals, outpatient care providers, social services, and community residents. The energy in the room was palpable for a panel discussion replete with raw and compelling accounts of various inequities manifested throughout daily life.

Panelists:

• Dr. Aida Luz Maisonet Giachello, Research Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
• Dr. Sharon Irons, Medical Director, Ambulatory Services, Cook County Health
• Kim Jay, Senior Community Health Worker, Sinai Urban Health Institute
• Dr. Art Jones, Chief Medical Officer, Medical Home Network
• Dr. Jairo Mejia, Chief Medical Officer, Access Community Health Network
• Kimberly McCullough-Starks, Deputy Director of Community Outreach, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Highlights:

• Opening remarks were provided by Malcolm X College President David Sanders, Congressman Danny Davis (IL-7), and newly elected Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (IL-3), and the panel was moderated by CBS-2 Chicago’s Dorothy Tucker and Univision Radio Chicago’s Aileen Ocana
• Wellness West outlined their health equity framework and its five pillars:
  1. Commitment to address inequities
  2. Partner with West Side communities
  3. Mobilize data and advocacy
  4. Address bias in systems
  5. Practice operational equality
• Several eye-opening statistics were referenced, including the average life expectancy gap of 16 years – 69 vs 85 years old – between residents of the West Garfield Park neighborhood and the Loop (central business district), respectively
• It was mentioned that an estimated 5 to 13 million Medicaid recipients will lose their benefits due to redetermination requirements stemming from the impending discontinuation of the current COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) period
  • For more information: https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-the-unwinding-of-the-medicaid-continuous-enrollment-requirement/
• There were many impassioned and emotional reflections upon the recent mass shooting on Halloween night in East Garfield Park
• On separate occasions, a moderator, panelist, and community member in attendance all mentioned having lost parents prematurely due to inadequate and inequitable care, perhaps unknowingly contributing to an alarming theme and casting a somber shadow over the evening
• One woman in attendance shared a heart-wrenching personal story in which her son had been shot and rushed to the nearest emergency room, where medical staff downplayed the severity of the injury, assumed a high pain tolerance, and refused to administer pain medication – an unfortunate but endemic response to black patients

To learn more about Wellness West and the powerful work they’re doing, please visit:
https://wellnesswest.org/

To learn how Trexin can help your organization assess its current health equity culture, maturity, and opportunity, please visit:

Health Equity Practice Area