Black Doctors Say Plan To Tackle Racism In Medicine Falls Short
In this Oct. 30, 2012 file photo, a doctor wears a stethoscope around his neck as he tends to patients in his office in Illinois. On May 11, 2021, the American Medical Association released a comprehensive plan aimed at dismantling structural racism inside its own ranks and within the U.S. medical establishment.
Jeff Roberson/AP
A plan by the nationâs largest doctorsâ group to dismantle racism in the U.S. medical establishment does not go far enough, two local experts told GBH News.
The American Medical Association said the plan, released Tuesday, has been in the works for over a year. But the groups leaders say that health inequities highlighted by the pandemic, ongoing police brutality and recent race-based crimes have given the effort a sense of urgency.
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Chrystal Bougon cried after the needle went into her arm. Not because her first dose of the Moderna vaccine hurt. But because, finally, being fat actually paid off.
The 53-year-old was inoculated in the parking lot of Kaiser Permanente in San José on a rainy Friday in March, four days after eligibility in California was broadened to include people with underlying conditions. Among them, a body mass index of 40 or more 233 pounds for an adult who is 5 feet 4 inches tall.
Bougon’s medical record at Kaiser shows she is morbidly obese; as an activist, she prefers the word “fat.” Her experience with medical providers has been one incident of size stigma after another, she said, like the time she went in with a scratched cornea and was told to lose weight. She fears being hospitalized with COVID-19 and unable to advocate for herself.
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When Achea Redd used to go for annual checkups, she tried to discuss her restrictive eating patterns with her doctors and her fear that she might have an eating disorder. But because her body mass index (BMI) was in the “overweight” category, Redd’s primary care physicians refused to consider the possibility that she might be depriving herself of food and instead counseled her to lose weight, she said.
It wasn’t until two years ago when Redd, a Black woman, was 38 that a therapist diagnosed her with “atypical anorexia,” a condition that doesn’t present with low body weight. Even then, her insurance wouldn’t cover treatment because of her BMI category. “Getting a doctor, a medical doctor, to sign off on me having an eating disorder was impossible,” she said. Redd began paying up to $800 out of pocket monthly to work with a therapist and dietitian.
BMI is flawed, especially for people of color - The Washington Post washingtonpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from washingtonpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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A leadership summit will soon be held in Fort Dodge that organizers hope will be a first step in creating real change when it comes to racial and cultural understanding.
The summit, called A Week in Dodge, will consist of a series of conversations and training centered around the issues of race, culture, diversity, racism, leadership and real change. It will feature nationally recognized speakers such as Eddie Moore Jr. and John G. Igwebuike.
The sessions will be held May 3 through May 6.
Charles Clayton, executive director of Athletics for Education and Success, is one of the speakers and helped organize the summit. He said even though more race-related incidents have come to light in recent times throughout the country, this educational opportunity has been in the works for the past few years.