Practices, Disparities, and Policies in Healthcare

Reflection on

“Practices, Disparities, and Policies in Healthcare”

On March 18th, 2021, CRIS hosted our signature Science & Faith event, “Practices, Disparities, and Policies in Healthcare” as part of this year’s series, “How Does Science Impact Racial (In)Equity?” In honor of Women’s History Month, three female panelists of color were featured: Cecilia Florio, M.D., M.P.H.; Gloria Itzel Montiel, Ph.D.; and Nia Johnson, J.D., M.B.E. Dr. Florio is a Program Director for AltaMed’s Family Medicine Residency Program in Greater Los Angeles; she has been serving the underprivileged communities for over a decade and led a team to establish AltaMed’s first residency program focusing on recruiting doctors who are committed to serving ethnically diverse communities. Dr. Montiel currently serves as a Senior Grant Writer and Researcher at the AltaMed Institute for Health Equity; she was one of the first DACA recipients to receive a Ph.D. in the United States. Ms. Johnson is a bioethicist, a lawyer, and a doctoral candidate in Health Policy with a concentration in Political Analysis at Harvard University.

As a health disparities researcher, Dr. Montiel started the webinar by sharing about ethnic disparities in hospitalization and death rates as well as the lack of access to testing and treatment. Dr. Florio then shared her experience as a primary care physician who serves in underprivileged communities, and the disparities she witnessed. Following which, Ms. Johnson offered the historical context of medical care for Black slaves to more current inequitable practices. The audience submitted a number of excellent questions during the Q&A portion which resulted in a substantive discussion.

To read more about this event, visit https://biologos.org/post/truly-caring-for-all-gods-people-combatting-healthcare-disparity/

To watch this webinar, visit https://www.apu.edu/research-science/events/