Why the Color of Your Skin Can Affect the Quality of Your Diagnosis
Kevin Wake called 911 as he realized he was beginning to have a stroke. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was unable to speak or use his right side. He was conscious and could hear and see everything but couldn’t respond. The EMTs presented Kevin to the emergency room as a suspected overdose based on just one observed fact: he was a black man in Chicago. They didn’t know he had called 911 or that he had said ‘stroke’ to the operator. They didn’t know he was a successful p
COVID-19 and People of Color
Recent reports tell us that the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, disproportionately infects and kills black and Hispanic patients. Experts are alarmed but not surprised. The virus is shining a light on existing and long-established gaps and inequities in our healthcare system. Infectious disease specialists say the first element of this is exposure. While the majority of Americans have been able to shelter-in-place, people of color make up the majority of essential workers during
