Calling systemic racism a public health crisis, three dozen Chicago health care organizations are pledging to do more to overcome health disparities in minority communities and ensure greater health equity across the city.
The group, which began their work through Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot鈥檚 Racial Equity Rapid Response Team, initially joined forces to focus on COVID-19 and its disproportionate impact on minority neighborhoods by making testing more accessible, implementing contact tracing, and increasing distribution of personal protective equipment across the South Side and the West Side. The organizations鈥 expanded their work beyond the pandemic in the wake of the horrifying and unconscionable deaths of George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and others.
鈥淩acism results in generational trauma and poverty, while also unquestionably causing higher rates of illness and death in black and brown communities,鈥 the organizers said in an open letter to the Chicago community. 鈥淲e have seen 鈥 in its rawest form 鈥 how the trauma of systemic racism adds to the historical injustices that have disproportionately affected communities of color.鈥
The 36 organizations, which include federally qualified health centers, safety net hospitals and major academic medical centers, collectively care for more than 8 million patients in the Chicago area.
鈥淭his statement represents an important first step, but the real work is just beginning,鈥 said Carmen Vergara, chief operating officer of Esperanza Health Centers. 鈥淲e need to continue challenging ourselves to acknowledge and address the deep, structural ways in which racism affects communities of color 鈥 from lack of meaningful economic opportunities to issues of over-policing, housing insecurity and mass incarceration. Most importantly, we need to hold ourselves and each other accountable for the vision of change we鈥檙e articulating here.鈥
Dr. David Ansell, senior vice president for community health equity at 脱衣直播 and associate provost for community affairs at Rush University, said the collaboration among the 36 healthcare organizations will be the key to achieving transformational change.
鈥淲e hope that this statement by Chicago health providers naming racism as a public health crisis will lead to meaningful structural change across a number of our public and private systems, from the health care to the criminal justice system,鈥 Ansell said.
The groups, which have a long history of working to overcome disparities in the communities they serve, committed to take the following seven action steps to advance their work:
- Re-examining institutional policies with an equity lens and making any policy changes that promote equity and opportunity.
- Improving access to primary and specialty care.
- Continuing to focus on helping communities overcome chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and asthma.
- Continuing to advocate for investments that create innovative solutions to achieve enduring improvements in access, quality and health outcomes for our communities.
- Continuing their commitment to hiring locally and promoting leaders of color.
- Renewing and expanding each organizations鈥 commitment to providing anti-racism and implicit bias training for physicians, nurses and staff.
- Advocating for increased funding for social needs, social services and programs that promote social justice.
鈥淎s part of this collaborative work, we are answering the call to eradicate the disparities that put our South Side communities at higher risk for chronic illness and infectious disease like COVID-19,鈥 said Brenda Battle, vice president of UChicago Medicine鈥檚 Urban Health Initiative and its chief diversity and inclusion officer. 鈥淲orking with our partner health care providers, we are committed to addressing systemic racism and dedicating our resources and research to achieving health equity and the highest standards of patient care.鈥
The full joint statement is available here. Para leer la declaraci贸n conjunta en espa帽ol, haga clic 补辩耻铆. Institutions that signed the letter include the following:
Access Community Health Network
Advocate Aurora Health
AHS Family Health Center
Alivio Medical Center
AMITA Health
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Aunt Martha鈥檚 Health & Wellness
Chicago Family Health Center
Cook County Health
Erie Family Health Centers
Esperanza Health Centers
Friend Health
Heartland Alliance Health
Howard Brown Health
La Rabida Children鈥檚 Hospital
Lawndale Christian Health Center
Loretto Hospital
Medical Home Network and MHN ACO
Mercy Hospital and Medical Center
UI Health Mile Square FQHC
Near North Health Service Corporation
New Roseland Community Hospital
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Northwestern Medicine
Norwegian American Hospital
PCC Community Wellness Center
PrimeCare Health Community Health Centers
Oak Street Health
Rush University System for Health
Saint Anthony Hospital
Sinai Health System
South Shore Hospital
St. Bernard Hospital
TCA Health, Inc.
University of Chicago Medicine
University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System
Civic Consulting Alliance, a nonprofit organization marshalling collaborative, pro bono investments to get big things done for Chicago, is coordinating the work of the Racial Equity Rapid Response and supported the development and organization of the joint statement.
