Are We Addressing Gaps In Health Care?
November 09

Are We Addressing Gaps In Health Care?

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is revealing a stark divide in health care. Non-white Americans are at much greater risk of illness and death from COVID-19, including here in our region. In May, Black Washingtonians accounted for more than 8 in 10 of D.C.’s coronavirus cases. And vaccination numbers continue to lag among Black and Hispanic/Latino populations, even as the more contagious and deadly delta variant spreads.

Additionally, many people have also delayed seeking health care for issues not related to COVID-19, inducing heart disease, cancer, non-urgent surgeries, and preventative checkups. On an individual level, deferred health care could lead to long-term health complications and life-threatening diseases. On a broader level, it could exacerbate the racial health disparities we’re already seeing.

What has the pandemic taught us about the gaps in our health care? How has job loss affected health care access? And what types of community programs have been the most effective at getting health care information and resources to those who need it the most?

Join Kojo Nnamdi and a panel of guests on Tuesday, November 9, at 7:30 p.m. ET to discuss the disparities in our health care system and what is being done to address the issues. He’ll talk with Dr. Sherita Golden, vice president, chief diversity officer and professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine; Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick, founder of Grapevine Health; and Dr. Basim Khan, executive director of Neighborhood Health.

Kojo will also talk with Marita Golden, president emerita of the Zora Neale Hurston-Richard Wright Foundation, about her new book, “The Strong Black Woman: How a Myth Endangers the Physical and Mental Health of Black Women.”

Ticket Fee
Free. Donations are welcome!

Registration
To participate, you must register by 5 p.m. ET on November 9. All registered participants will receive an email with instructions on how to connect to our virtual event on Zoom upon registration. Live closed captioning will be available. We will also live stream the event on Facebook. You can tune in on our Facebook page, with or without a Facebook account.

This event will be recorded and an edited version will be aired on WAMU Presents special programming on Friday, November 12, at 1 p.m. ET.

About Kojo In Our Community
Kojo In Our Community is a series of live events aimed at providing area residents with a forum to ask questions, make comments and share views from their neighborhoods. These events are normally taped on location across the region, but we’re now bringing them to you in a virtual setting with topics that focus on surviving — and thriving — during the current public health crisis.

Questions
If you have further questions, please contact us at events@wamu.org.

WHERE?
WHEN?
November 09, 2021 - 7:30 PM
(EDT)
Participating