This is the book that everyone has been waiting for. Dr. G first addressed the hospice physician work force, now she and Nurse Sharon, the end-of-life doula, will educate and empower the general public about the advantages of hospice care for patients and families. There’s no need to be afraid of the H-word anymore! Learn THE REAL DEAL About Hospice Care by reading through stories that highlight the advantages of hospice care for patients and families. Nurse Sharon and Dr. G will guide you through a few of the most common diagnoses eligible for hospice care in the United States of America: ALS, Alzheimer's disease, Cancer, Heart disease, HIV, Liver disease, Pulmonary disease, Renal disease, Stroke & Coma.
https://a.co/d/5pGAKrH
Q. How long have you been a member of the Black Health Network, and what drew you to CBHN?
Equal medical care is not enough to end disparities in health outcomes and achieve health equity for all people of color. It takes elevating care experience, continuing to build trust, creating culturally responsive care, and establishing best practices that can be shared across the healthcare community. Joining the Black Health Network this year was an opportunity to partner with an organization whose mission is to highlight the inequities that permeate in many aspects of our society and advocate for change.
Q. What is your current profession?
Throughout my career as a nurse and executive, I have gravitated toward mission-driven organizations that embody innovation, social responsibility, person-centered care, Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (EID), and invest in the communities they serve. Searching for an organization that demonstrated those key aspects ultimately brought me back to California where I joined an organization that believes everyone has a right to good health.
As the Senior Vice President and Area Manager for Kaiser Permanente in the Central Valley, I am proud to be a servant leader within an organization that is focused on providing high-quality, culturally responsive care so our members can achieve the best possible health outcomes.
Q. From your perspective, what barriers exist in achieving health equity for Black Californians?
Black people are more likely to face social and economic challenges that adversely impact health, including higher rates of poverty and food insecurity. Disparities among Black Americans include higher rates of chronic conditions, shorter life expectancy, higher maternal and infant mortality rates, and lower screening rates for cancer and heart disease. Longstanding significant disparities in health and health care are directly related to the social determinants of health such as poverty, income inequality, wealth inequality, and food security. These disparities are mostly determined by a lack in the distribution of money, power, and resources in black communities creating environments with inadequate access to healthy food choices, subpar education systems, and safety and security, among other resources.
We need policies and resources to support more black healthcare professionals. Black people represent over 6 percent of California’s population; however we only represent 3.2 percent of California’s physicians. The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on communities of color in the United States underscored the reality that when it comes to population health, we still have major work to do to achieve health equity. We need a more diverse workforce, community leaders, policymakers, community leaders with the right experiences, skills, cultural diversity, and linguistic capabilities to meet the needs of our communities and to create health equity.
Q. Both in your work and with CBHN, how have you been able to prioritize the health of Black Californians?
Inequality impacts wealth, education, employment, housing, mobility, and health. At Kaiser Permanente, our community work is central to our mission. Through our community health grants, we support inclusive economic growth, which is critical to both individual and community health.
Q. What inspires you to keep doing the work you do?
I’m inspired by black joy — a conscious intentional act of choosing joy to heal from the pain of social and economic injustices related to our lives being subjugated and our freedoms regulated. Joy radiates through me as I honor my ancestors, challenge stereotypes, and encourage the transformation of our society through our youth. Developing and inspiring our youth to seize possibilities and undertake their responsibility to transcend beyond “what was.”
Our youth are the leaders and workforce of tomorrow, and many are challenged today by violence, intergenerational transmission of poverty, educational disadvantage, gender discrimination, and societal stereotypes. We must constantly remind them that they are the key to leading the future and closing the gaps we experience with health disparity. Our youth have grown up in a digitally interconnected world and demonstrate a technological sophistication that enables them to relate to the world, new ideas, information, and innovation. If we invest and mentor our youth and young adults, we have the privilege to influence generations to come, and help them to become the problem-solvers, entrepreneurs, and change agents of the coming decades.
How long have you been a member of the Black Health Network, and what drew you to CBHN?
Our agency, the Health & Human Resource Education Center, better known as (HHREC), was founded in 1984. We have six community programs, and our core programs are centered around health and wellness. Our most valuable program is the Black Women's Media Project funded through the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). Our agency was drawn to CBHN via the amazing community advocacy work! HHREC partners with BH Brilliant Minds Project, Global Investment Company, and As You Are Nonprofit Called To Do His Work. Both HHREC and As You Are Called To Do His Work became organizational members this year! We are so passionate about mental health awareness for our people and sharing resources.
What is your current profession?
Executive Director. I have been working in the nonprofit sector for over fifteen years. I specialize in fund development and grant writing.
From your perspective, what barriers exist in achieving health equity for Black Californians?
The barriers are very much rooted in institutional racism. Not understanding how to navigate through the healthcare system and not having the resources and shared education to do so. We need access to more Black doctors, clinicians, and medical providers.
Both in your work and with CBHN, how have you been able to prioritize the health of Black women?
Our agency hosts and facilitates quarterly retreats for Black Women. We ensure that we provide a safe space for Black Women to do health and wellness activities like yoga, meditation, and art therapy. We are able to provide stipends and mental health awareness support. Our Black Women's Media Project produces a yearly digital magazine called "Crossing The Invisible Line."
What inspires you to keep doing the work you do?
My love for God and the Black community. I Pastor Taylor Chapel CME Church in Vallejo. I currently study under Bishop Dr. Charley Hames Jr., who is the new presiding prelate of the Ninth Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. I want to make sure Black women have access to peer support and resources for their community. We can do all things through Christ!
Dr. Henry has a Doctor of Public Health in health services research and a Master of Public Health in community health sciences.
How long have you been a member of the Black Health Network?
Not sure. First heard of, and interacted with, CBHN in the late ’90s. Connected with y’all again from 2016-2019. I joined again in May of 2021.
What drew you to CBHN?
People power. Making connections. Policy advocacy.
In 8 words, author, book publisher, consultant, speaker, and store owner. In a few more words, I run Community Intelligence, a public health research, policy analysis and health communications consulting firm; Go Crenshaw Publications; and, GoCrenshaw.Shop.
Hmmm…I could go on and on ‘til the break of dawn on this one - but I won’t. How about lack of Universal Health Coverage; absence of recommended pedestrian safety infrastructure and countermeasures; and inadequate public investment in Black/Brown communities.
Both in your work and with CBHN, how have you been able to prioritize the health of older Black Californians?
To name just three of many. Community Intelligence prioritizes the health of older Black Californians/Angelenos by (1) conducting secondary research on the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality for Black people and developing policy recommendations; (2) writing books that detail things that can be done walking, advocating for placemaking and (3) wayfinding signage that help to make walking more interesting, and forming Crenshaw Walks, a walking group.
My family, my garden, my pool, and kung fu.
https://www.optumsandiego.com/content/SanDiego/sandiego/en/county-staff---providers.html
I have been an official member of the Black Health Network since 2022, but I have been engaged in the California Black Health Network’s mission to build a black health agenda through its community outreach projects since 2017.
I am the Founder and CEO of Advocate for Nurturing Transition (ANT) Consulting and currently serve in the capacity as a Cultural Community Liaison Consultant for the African American community with Riverside University Health System - Behavioral Health.
Multiple barriers exist, beginning with the mistrust of the medical system coupled with a shortage of Black physicians. There is an inherent lack of trust within medical institutions between providers and Black patients. Unfortunately, trusted messengers such as the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the National Institute of Health have each published apologies for their support of structural racist practices and the exclusion of African American physicians. These institutions have been instrumental in ensuring that Black people were disproportionately underrepresented in research studies and clinical trials, thereby creating barriers that continue to directly affect Black Californians from achieving health equity.
I've been able to prioritize my work by staying informed, connected, and engaged through collaborations and community partnerships that support the health and well-being of older Black Californians.
You co-lead BHN's Healthy Aging Peer Network; what motivated you to take on the role, and what do you hope to accomplish?
I'm a lifelong learner, and I take joy in being an advocate. I hope through my advocacy work that I can one day be instrumental in transforming the consciousness of Black Californians to also serve as an advocate for self, family, and community.
There is much work to be done, and I'm inspired by knowing that my work brings me a sense of purpose and fulfillment.
I have been a member of CBHN for about one year. I was drawn to CBHN because of its commitment to the health and wellness of Black Californians. CBHN is the only organization I am aware of, solely devoted to Black health equity advocacy, reducing health disparities among Black health-seeking constituents, and committed to addressing health's social and economic determinants through education, awareness, and coalition building.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker dedicated to the emotional, psychological, spiritual, and physical health of Black people.
I believe several barriers exist, but I will focus on three. The first and most blatant is racism. The conscious/unconscious and biased/unbiased perspectives of Black people by non-Black people inform how Blacks can access care, how we experience the care given, and the disingenuousness and apathy in which we are collectively treated by non-Black healthcare professionals (and a few Black healthcare professionals). There is no compassion or grace applied to the delivery of care. The second is the invisible “caste” system in which Black people are placed in a “stratification hierarchy,” as eloquently articulated by Isabel Wilkerson, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent,” which dictates how we are to be treated. The third is the impact of our posttraumatic slave trauma on our inability to “trust” the healthcare system, which has been and continues to be exploited as evidenced by a history of involuntary abortions, hysterectomies, research studies, pain-induced experiments, and the use of our biological cells to transform how terminal diseases are treated, thanks to Henrietta Lacks HeLa cell line, which immortalized one of the most important cell lines in cancer medical research.
Both in your work and with CBHN, how have you been able to prioritize Black mental health?
I have always been devoted to Black mental health and continue to be interested in mental health issues that impact Black people, especially those who are least likely to receive services. Black people are greatly affected by stress, anxiety, depression, and grief and loss, which is almost always directly correlated to racism, posttraumatic slave syndrome, or social stratification. This is usually manifested in Blacks being disproportionately represented either in the child welfare, juvenile justice, or correctional systems or economically impacted as reflected in unfair labor wages or high rates of unemployment and high rates of school failure in the K-12 public school system.
You serve as the lead for BHN's Behavioral Health Peer Network; what motivated you to take on the role, and what do you hope to accomplish?
I feel honored to serve CBHN as their Behavioral Health Peer Network lead. Black Mental Health is essential to our survival and intergenerational emotional health and wellness. For the first time, there is this emerging acceptance by Black people of the importance of one’s mental health. We are beginning to move away from the stigma and fully embrace our mental health. This is so exciting! Our children, youth, elders, and I am especially enthused by our Black men, all of whom are embracing their mental health. In this role, I hope to work with CBHN to both promote Black mental health and create a health provider resource directory so that Black consumers interested in finding health providers to serve them can access them through CBHN’s statewide directory.
We will probably be dealing with the reverberations of racism for quite some time. I see my role as helping us to care for ourselves in the presence of this invisible enemy and to allow us to cope with the emotional harm that comes with being Black in America. Further, I am committed to the healing work of our ancestors. We have been devastated by the psychological impact of chattel slavery and continue living with the psychological effect of posttraumatic slave syndrome. I am committed to being of service to us on our healing journey.
This story originally appeared in The Los Angeles Times BY CHACE BEECH JUNE 25, 2020 6:30 AM PT
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-25/black-death-doulas-react-to-george-floyds-death#:~:text=Alua%20Arthur%20is%20a%20death,people%20as%20they%20approach%20death.&text=For%20many,%20a%20%E2%80%9Cgood%20life,ends%20with%20excellent%20medical%20care.
By Rhonda Smith
July was National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, intended to bring awareness to the unique struggles that racial and ethnic minority communities face regarding mental illness in the United States. We wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness of Tardive Dyskinesia (TD), an involuntary movement disorder associated with taking certain medications that treat bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, or schizoaffective disorder, which disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities. National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month also focuses on breaking the stigma about mental health among racial and ethnic minority populations. The involuntary movements associated with TD carry a heavy stigma and are particularly harmful to Black communities. Some facts:
TD is characterized by uncontrollable, abnormal, and repetitive movements of the face, torso, and/or other body parts. This can include lip puckering; jaw biting, clenching, or side-to-side movements; tongue darting, sticking out, or pushing inside; twisting and twitching hands and feet; and torso and hip shifting, among other symptoms. Untreated, TD can cause great distress for patients and negatively impact their overall quality of life.
With nearly 6 million Californians living with mental illness, TD is no minor issue. Research suggests the overall prevalence of TD following prolonged treatment with first- generation antipsychotics is up to 30%, and it is estimated that 600,000 people in the U.S. are affected by TD, but many go undiagnosed.
We encourage policy makers, medical professionals, health care advocates, and patients to learn more about TD and its impact on our community. This is especially important as we are in the endemic phase of the COVID crisis, during which patients may not have had regular, in-person contact with health care practitioners so that conditions like TD can be diagnosed and treated.
By Richard H Carmona • May 17, 2021
The past year has taken a toll on the physical and mental health of millions of Californians. While we were rightly focused on slowing the spread of the pandemic, widespread shutdowns brought about a more sedentary, inactive lifestyle, which has led to increased weight gain and worsened mental health for many. As Californians look ahead and as more people receive the vaccine, it is time for policymakers and citizens to start reprioritizing physical activity and placing much needed attention on the health equity crisis in our state.
There is a direct correlation between obesity and developing serious COVID-19 complications and chronic diseases. In fact, about 78 percent of people who have been hospitalized, needed a ventilator, or died from COVID-19 have been overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And once the scourge of COVID has passed, the leading causes of death will continue to be heart disease and cancers — all exacerbated by physical inactivity and overweight.
This correlation is heightened by the fact that communities that were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 were also already disproportionately impacted by inactivity and obesity. Data has shown that Black and Latinx communities suffered higher rates of COVID-19. Meanwhile in California, physical inactivity is the highest among Black and Latinx residents, at 23 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
The obesity rate in California is 25.8 percent, but that number jumps to 33 percent for Latinx residents, and 40 percent for Black residents. That figure is expected to be higher now as the pandemic has led to a 32 percent reduction in physical activity among individuals who were physically active.
These correlations can be attributed to the fact that many of our Black and brown communities exist in food deserts, experience a shortage of healthy food options and often have lower access to green space and safe outdoor spaces in which to recreate, among other reasons.
Two recent studies show just how acute the COVID weight gain issue has become. A study in the Journal of American Medicine reported that during the first five months of closures, the average American gained nearly two pounds per month. And an even more concerning report by the American Physiological Association indicated that during the lockdown, 50 percent of millennials had gained weight during the lockdown, averaging an astounding 41 pounds.
Separately, research from the Kaiser Family Foundation showed about four in 10adults in the United States have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder throughout the pandemic. That’s up from one in 10 during the first six months of 2019. Kaiser also found that many adults have suffered negative impacts on their mental health and well-being — including difficulty sleeping (36 percent) or eating (32 percent), increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12 percent) and worsening chronic conditions (12 percent) — due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.
Fortunately, a healthy weight can be achieved through a regimen of healthful eating and physical activity. However, even before the pandemic, only about 23 percent of adults met or exceeded the federal physical activity guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. Even if an individual can’t meet the full recommended amount of exercise, researchers have found that as little as 20 minutes of physical activity a day can have anti-inflammatory effects that boost your immune system. And the pandemic has given us a new understanding of the value of maintaining a strong immune system.
Fitness centers are committed to being part of the solution. They continue to work closely with local, state and federal public health officials as they reopen — implementing capacity restrictions and proven safety protocols like physical distancing, increased sanitization and air filtration. These policies are key to ensuring Californians have access to exercise while also mitigating the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
I encourage policymakers to go beyond the current conversation and continue to discuss the underlying reasons for the health disparities in our state. We must pursue health equity by identifying solutions for food deserts, finding ways to ensure healthy food options regardless of zip code and, importantly, ensuring that every community has adequate and safe spaces for exercise, whether that be in a gym, park or on a walking trail.
Whether you are continuing your personal fitness routine or heading back to your fitness center, the important thing is to get your body active. Staying safe in a post-pandemic world means maintaining a healthy immune system, becoming physically active, eating well and maintaining a healthy body weight. These lifestyle changes will allow you to live longer and happier!
Dr. Richard Carmona served as the 17th U.S. Surgeon General and currently sits on the Chancellor’s Board of Advisors at UC Davis.
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