Sponsored by Bristol Myers Squibb
Presented by: Sherell McDearmon,
Director, State Strategic Alliances at Bristol Myers Squibb
Congressman Glen Ivey
Dr. Jennifer L. Ellis
Sherell McDearmon, Congressman Glen Ivey, and Dr. Jennifer L. Ellis advocated for civic engagement to promote healthcare access during the Black Health Matters Spring Summit.
“We are all gathered here today to embark on a journey that delves into the fabric of the community’s health landscape, understanding that reliable access to healthy food and medical care in a safe environment are the basics for good health,” said McDearmon. “Many of you know the surprising fact that your ZIP code has more impact on your health outcomes than your DNA,” she told the audience as they shook their head at the disturbing fact. She shared information about the grants issued to advocacy groups on behalf of Bristol Myers Squibb to help patients practically handle barriers to treatment.
“Every day, in every state, every city, including here in Washington DC and every country worldwide. Patients are waiting. They’re waiting for relief from the fears and burdens of illness and disease. They need hope, hope that tomorrow will bring Improvement and change,” she said. “BMS is proud to have committed grants to independent patient advocacy groups, community-based and faith-based organizations, medical societies, and healthcare nonprofits to start and expand community health worker and patient navigation programs,” McDearmon continued.
“Grants to independent organizations assist patients with social care needs, such as transportation to clinics financial, assisting assistance, housing, healthy food, as well as guiding them passionately through complex, clinical care Journeys.”
The Congressman approached the crowd with extreme vulnerability. He discussed his difficulty with managing his diet and the challenges experienced by his family members as well.
“I wanted to be clear that I’m not talking down to anybody here. I ain’t better than anybody in here. A lot of the things we’re trying to do through these policy outreach efforts are aimed at people just like me who are doing things that are slowly killing ourselves, and we need to change that path,” he told the audience.
He acknowledged the gravity of the situation for Black people facing medical bias and other systemic issues.
“Our whole community needs to get serious,” added Congressman Ivey. “Conferences like this are a huge step in the right direction.” He explained how state lawmakers determine who can access care in their districts. “It’s different for us. So we have to make sure that the people in charge, whether it’s in politics or heading up the health care system or running hospitals, they have to know that we will hold them accountable,” he said.
Dr. Ellis described how one patient she encountered was so desperate to acknowledge her discomfort that she went to desperate lengths to obtain the attention of the professional entrusted with her care. Facing the stigma of mental illness exasperated the patient’s situation.
“She thought she was having a heart attack. So she pulled the fire alarm because no one was coming to help her,” said the doctor. It turns out the patient’s desperation saved her life. She was indeed having a heart attack. She spent three days in the hospital without treatment.
The doctor also advised the women in the audience to familiarize themselves with the ways heart attack symptoms differ in women. “This audience is a little bit more female than male. So, one of the other things with women is. We get into trouble because sometimes our heart attacks are presented differently,” she said. She also recognized that other diseases like anorexia are not absent in the Black community, but they show up in different forms.
Dr. Ellis recommended relying on repetition to seek better outcomes with the flawed system as change scrolls in. She noted how emergency room doctors could fail to assess patients accurately due to narrow training and subconscious biases. Dr. Ellis suggested asking pointed questions like “Could it be my heart,” repeatedly even if you are being dismissed by the practitioner you are speaking to.
“They’re not doing this on purpose. They are not bad people. That ER doc is just a product of the environment and his upbringing; he is not hurting you on purpose. But he is not necessarily thinking that you have heart disease because that’s not in his matrix. So, part of our job is to educate him a little bit,” she said.
