In a city and state known for world-class health care, there's a push to take things to the next level.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has launched a health equity plan, citing racism as a “serious threat to public health.”
“We have some of the best health outcomes in the nation, but those positive outcomes are not shared equally,” said Hafsatou Diop, MD, MPH, the first deputy commissioner for health equity at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. said.
The new plan will guide the work DPH is doing to find new ways to address a system the department says is rife with systemic inequities.
“It is important that all residents have access to good health care, good health and overall good outcomes,” Diop said. “The question is how do we take advantage of the great programs we have so that more people in the commonwealth can benefit from them?”
The DPH chief recently said the agency sees the effects of racism in its daily operations, from severe maternal morbidity to the effects of opioids and even gambling.
“This is a critical part of the work that DPH is doing,” said Juan Fernando Lopera, a member of the Health Equity Compact and the first chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer of Beth Israel Lahey Health. I believe it is a fundamental component.”
The Health Equity Compact has been working on this work for two years and sees this push as a major show of support and a commitment that includes ensuring the response to another pandemic is more equitable.
“While we hope it never happens again, if something like this were to happen again, our approach would be different given that communities such as Chelsea, Roxbury, and East Boston have been significantly impacted. “It could be,” Lopera said.
This new DPH plan aims to complement Boston's status as a world-class medical city while preventing history from repeating itself.
“It takes time to change habits. It takes time to change the culture that we live in,” Diop said. “That might be difficult.”
