R.J. LEONARD FOUNDATION
  • Home
  • Special Events
  • Donate
  • Who we are
  • What we do
  • What's the point?
  • Success Stories
  • Blog
  • Fellows
  • Mentors

Our Blog

Black history Month: Healthcare disparities

2/18/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Healthcare remains a privilege in the United States. Those with limited means and in rural areas in particular face numerous challenges accessing meaningful, effective healthcare. The same is true regardless of financial status and geography for people of color. The disparities in both treatment and outcome between white Americans and Americans of color - particularly Black Americans - have long been documented. COVID-19 made them even more apparent. 

Take, for example, maternal health outcomes. Prior to the pandemic, the statistics were already beyond troubling. Compared to other high-income countries, the United States had and continues to have the highest maternal mortality rate, with Black women in the U.S. having a maternal mortality rate 3 times higher than that of white women. 

Add in COVID-19. 

Black women, regardless of maternal status, saw a 2.3 year decline in life expectancy in just the first 6 months of the pandemic. Though exact data is not available yet, experts know that the pandemic has further exacerbated the racial disparities in maternal mortality rates. “The pandemic came and just made these issues and a lot more, much, much worse,” Angel Aina, interim executive director for the Black Mamas Matter Alliance told Roll Call in 2020. 

As we take this month to recognize the gains in Black Health and Wellness and the impact that Black individuals have had on health and healthcare in general, we must also remember how far this country has to go in providing fair, effective and equitable healthcare to all of its citizens, not just those who happen to be white. 

​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Dare To Dream
    Dear RJLF
    Friends Launching Futures
    From The Founder
    Mentor Minutes
    News
    Newsletters
    Press
    Upcoming Events

    Archives

    July 2024
    May 2024
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017

    RSS Feed

Picture
ExecDirector@rjleonardfoundation.org
1-(646) 246-8199


1097 Street Road
​New Hope, PA 18938
RJLF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization
​© RJ Leonard Foundation, 2023
​Website by Madeline Hunt
Photo from COD Newsroom
  • Home
  • Special Events
  • Donate
  • Who we are
  • What we do
  • What's the point?
  • Success Stories
  • Blog
  • Fellows
  • Mentors