Ive seen this resilience my whole life.
Unfortunately some of those experiences are tales of inequity.
I felt these inequities firsthand, after the health-care system failed my mother in her battle against cancer.
It was a fight she ultimately wouldnt win, and my mother passed in February 2008.
Black, Brown, and Latinx folks have long lacked the resources necessary to navigate the health-care system.
The art of sitting around a tablesharing food and exchanging storiesimmediately fostered an intimate togetherness.
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It was both magic, and a necessity.
Connecting in that vulnerable way with strangers showed me the healing power of my community.
I heard repeated tales detailing a deep mistrust in the health-care system.
And the data backs up these feelings.
The CDC noted that Black mothers experience this fatal reality at a ratethree to four times higherthan white mothers.
And thats just looking at childbirth.
These health disparities not only cost us dear lives, but they come with a hefty price tag.
But where do we begin?
The language of health care.
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This language cant be learned in any textbook.
Its Amazing How Its All Connected.
Perception:how customs, beliefs, and views of social identity shape our decisions around health.
Right now, there are very few spaces addressing all four areas of health-care fluency.
The health-care system rarely takes the last two pointsperception and confidenceinto consideration.
And underserved communities have less access to resources surrounding literacy or knowledge.
While our system is flawed, its not static.
We can grow, change, and healwitheach other by focusing on increasing health-care fluency.
Icy, sterile, disconnected.
Yet the pandemic also illuminated the potential for massive growth in accessibilityparticularly with the support of telehealth.
Technology is now allowing us to expand our circle and provide resources to empower the overlooked and underserved.
Fortunately, the bonds of community run deeper than the injustices of the current health-care system.
This pandemic has not only shown the strength of the Latinx culture, but its ability to heal.
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