The Declining Health Of America: Lessons From Covid-19

Listen now https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=394205

February 13, 2023 on KPFA.org, 94.1FM

My guest was Dr. Stephen Bezruchka. He discussed his new book, Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19’s Health Lessons for the World

The US had the most covid deaths of any country.  Why is that, and what can we learn about the declining health of our country? Income inequality is a major factor related to increased deaths in the pandemic. There are many lessons to learn in order to avoid future tragic deaths.

Guest:

Dr. Stephen Bezruchka is a graduate of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford universities. He teaches courses in the Departments of Health Systems and Population Health and of Global Health as faculty in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington. He worked clinically as a doctor for 35 years including three decades as an emergency physician. He spent over 11 years in Nepal, writing the first trekking guide to that country, running a community health project a week’s walk from the road, training Nepali doctors in a remote district hospital and advancing concepts of population health. He created the Population Health Forum in 1997.  He serves on the board of directors of the Washington Physicians For Social Responsibility and works with its Economic Inequity Health Task Force. His book:  Inequality Kills Us All: COVID-19’s Health Lessons for the World was published this year. For more information check out https://stephenbezruchka.com/inequality-kills-us-all

Roots of Health Disparities

If you missed the January 16th show on KPFA  about The Roots of Health Disparities you can hear it now at https://kpfa.org/player/?audio=251021

 

images“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice

in health care is the most shocking and

inhuman.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Decades of racially discriminatory policies have marginalized people of color in every way, including in areas of housing, transportation, education, employment, and health. In spite of civil rights laws passed 50 years ago—people of color still face barriers on nearly every quality-of-life measure.”

—”Health Equity As a Critical Civil Rights Issue,” PolicyLink, 2015

GUESTS:

Dr. Muntu Davis is the Public Health Department Director and County Health Officer in Alameda County, California. He advises the County Board of Supervisors, local government agencies, and community members and organizations on medical and public health issues and on the development and implementation of public health policy and practices. He also provides oversight, strategic direction, and fiscal management of the department and all of its divisions. He joined the ACPHD in October 2005. Prior to working Alameda County, he worked in the Immunization Branch of the California Department of Health Services on pandemic planning and education on febrile rash evaluation. He also practiced medicine in urban and rural primary care and urgent care clinics in Northern and Southern California. He held multiple positions at the Continuity of Instruction to Reinforce Our Children’s Learning Environment (C.I.R.C.L.E.) program at the Tom Bradley Elementary School including co-director and member of the board of directors. Dr. Davis completed a residency in Family Medicine at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, California. He completed The California Endowment Scholars in Health Policy Fellowship and received his Master of Public Health degree from Harvard School of Public Health.

Dalila Butler, Associate Director, works with the PolicyLink Center for Health Equity and Place to promote social, economic and health equity through environmental and policy change, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color. Dalila serves as the California Department of Public Health Office of Health Equity Advisory Committee Chair. She also provides technical assistance to communities across the country and supports research and writing for health team projects. She supports the Boys and Men of Color team by working with networks in advancing policy and practice to advance equity in the areas of health, education, employment, and juvenile justice. Prior to joining PolicyLink, Dalila supported health equity projects at Prevention Institute. She holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Masters in Public Health from San Diego State University.