COVID-19 ‘s disproportionate impact on communities of color has forced the nation to confront how systemic racism has shaped both health and health care in this country.
In this four-part discussion series, host Mary C. Curtis will talk to advocates and experts about how structural and institutional racism has impacted the health care system and about what can be done to change it.
The series is brought to you by WFAE, Everyday Health, the health information giant; and ClearHealthCosts, an organization that creates transparency about medical costs.
In the second discussion Curtis talks to actress Alicia Cole who developed flesh-eating disease, sepsis and three life-threatening antibiotic-resistant infections after a minor surgery in 2006. The racial bias Cole said she encountered during her treatment prompted her to become a patient safety advocate. While still bedridden and recovering from six additional surgeries, Cole used a talk-to-type program to blog about her experience and call improvements in the health care system. She co-sponsored and lobbied successfully for passage of two California patient protection laws. Cole works with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others.
