Among the many essential workers putting themselves at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic are environmental services (EVS) workers, many of whom face considerable challenges yet are often overlooked. Despite being referred to as “janitors” or “housekeepers” and not being recognized as an integral part of the hospital team, EVS workers play a critical role in patient safety. Their laborious tasks, which are critical to providing safe and high-quality care, consist of thoroughly disinfecting all surfaces in patient rooms that might spread infection, as well as cleaning beds and equipment, ...

The racial equity movement and COVID-19 are bringing needed public attention to the structural racism and inequities that underlie social and health disparities in the United States. The police killings of George Floyd and so many other Black lives have brought about increasing calls for police reform. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd’s killing occurred, the City Council recently approved a

Primary care is the foundation for population health and well-being. Unfortunately, our efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic have exposed many critical structural deficiencies in our country’s health care system, most notably the lack of investment in primary care. Equal access and equitable care While the disparate impact of the coronavirus on

Although there was no shortage of suffering before coronavirus, this global pandemic, compounded by tragic events involving the loss of Black lives, has brought rising levels of stress and uncertainty. Growing unemployment and physical separation from loved ones have led to increased substance ...

As many Family Medicine colleagues across the United States complete residency, I find myself looking back to those challenging yet invigorating years. Residency training certainly solidified my clinical skills, from diabetes to pregnancy labor management, but also heightened my interest in social issues. Training in Western North Carolina meant working in a non-Medicaid expansion state where Black babies were three times more likely to die within their first year of life than white babies and where those struggling with opioid addiction were often marginalized. Each day seemingly brought ...

Many people experience sexual pain or dysfunction at various points throughout their lifetime, and women’s sexual pain conditions are often mis- or undiagnosed. A common pain ...

Access to comprehensive primary care has long been a challenge in the United States, and the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will have far reaching implications on our healthcare system. Sixty percent of Americans have at least one chronic condition, and many patients have complex needs that require additional coordination, time and resources than what traditional models of care ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has cast health inequities into stark relief, though this hasn’t surprised those of us already immersed in the care of homeless persons. Barbara McInnis, a beloved nurse at the Pine Street Inn in 1985 (for whom the Barbara McInnis House for medical respite was named ...

Many of my teachers and fellow students feel that to be good healthcare providers, we must separate ourselves from our political opinions and the issues outside the walls of the hospital. That impulse can be helpful. We don’t want to mistreat our patients because they hold different opinions from us or see the world in a different way. At the same time, I think it limits the degree to which we can fully understand and address the problems our patients face. It is difficult to understand the injuries caused by violence or the illnesses caused by chronic stress ...