Massachusetts calls racism a “serious public health threat” and is taking action to prevent it.
In a city and a state known for its world-class health care, there is a push to take things to the next level.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has launched a health equity plan, referring to racism as a "serious public heath threat."
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"Some of the best health outcomes across the country, but those good outcomes are not equally shared," said Dr. Hafsatou Diop, M.D., M.P.H., the inaugural assistant commissioner of health equity at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
The new plan will guide the work DPH does, finding new ways to address a system the agency says is full of systemic inequities.
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"It is important that we make sure that all our residents have, you know, good health care, good health, and good outcomes over all across the board," Diop said. "How do we leverage those good programs that we have so that, more people in the commonwealth can benefit from them is the question."
DPH's commissioner recently said the agency sees the effects of racism in its work every day, from severe maternal morbidity rates, to the impacts of opioids, and even gambling.
"I see it as a tremendous building block the work that DPH is doing," said Juan Fernando Lopera, a member of The Health Equity Compact and Beth Israel Lahey Health's inaugural chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
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The Health Equity Compact has been doing this work for two years and sees this push as a huge show of support, work that includes ensuring the response to another pandemic is more equitable.
"Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but if something like that were to happen again, our approach would likely be different knowing communities like Chelsea, Roxbury, and East Boston were so impacted," said Lopera.
This new DPH plan hopes to complement Boston's status as a world-class medical city while also working to prevent history from repeating itself.
"It takes time to change practice. It takes time to shift the culture that we live in," said Diop. "It could be challenging."
