Fighting Racism: A Public Health Crisis in New York City – An Interview with Dr. Michelle Morse

Rx Foundation Trustee and NYC’s first-ever Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Michelle Morse, recently joined Joel Bervell on The Dose podcast to discuss the ongoing public health crisis in New York City – racism.

Listen to “Fighting NYC’s Ongoing Public Health Crisis — Racism”

“Fighting NYC’s Ongoing Public Health Crisis — Racism,” Apr. 28, 2023, in The Dose, hosted by Joel Bervell, produced by Jody Becker, Mickey Capper, and Naomi Leibowitz, podcast, MP3 audio, 28:35. https://doi.org/10.26099/nxck-6382

Key Takeaways

Urgent need for stronger connections between healthcare providers and public health

Relationships between public health professionals and safety net organizations during the COVID pandemic focused health equity efforts, strengthened capacities, and led to coordinated efforts to overcome gaps in care

Pre-mature mortality rates (death <65 years) have dramatical racial disparities in New York City

Working on institutional accountability as it relates to health equity and anti-racism in public health = Coalition to End Racism in Clinical Algorithms

NYC’s Public Health Corps was born out of COVID efforts = program funds community-based groups to conduct deep outreach, education and engagement; boots-on-the-ground and community health worker model, covering 35+ languages

Racial wealth gap had profound impacts on health outcomes during the pandemic; “transmission of COVID would’ve been somewhere between 30 and 68 percent lower” for the entire state of Louisiana if the racial wealth gap did not exist

In October 2021, racism was declared a public health crisis in NYC

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