Patients tell me all the time that our health care infrastructure needs reformation. Many people, including myself, would agree with that statement, but reformed to what? As a Patient Access Specialist at

Years ago, a friend and I were coming home from university very late on a cool, breezy evening. The public transport was crowded, so we decided to walk home. On our way, as we crossed a dark, deserted alley, a group of men started following us, using abusive language, talking about our body parts loudly. We quickened our paces, they did the same. As we entered the street where my friend lived, we were in a state of panic. As these men crossed into ...

Historic factors driving health disparities among the diverse Latino population in the U.S. include social determinants of health that have created barriers in COVID-19 prevention. As COVID-19 disparities became evident, dedicated clinicians, scientists and public health professionals from around the country partnered under the umbrella of the

We can see structural determinants of health all around us, like when we see factories and truck routes constructed in low-income minority neighborhoods. We also see structural determinants when

As the largest system for primary care in the United States, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) (and other community health centers) stand in a unique position to redress the

In January 2020, Tom was 61 years old when he was evicted from his home. In the following months, an already distressing and traumatic experience was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tom was living in a shelter when he first tested positive for COVID-19. He said, “I was alright, but I didn’t know what [a positive test result] meant for me.” And Tom’s story is extremely common. When people living in congregate shelters test positive for COVID-19, they have limited options. If ...

Criminalizing survival Rachel stayed. She stayed to survive, and for that the criminal legal system labeled her a “frequent flyer.” When she called 911, she was lucky if she got a couple hours reprieve from her long-time partner’s life-threatening abuse before he returned home. He would often return home bragging about the arresting officer making a pit stop for him at a nearby ATM to make his bond—a common ...

Shortly after Healing Across the Divides began its work, the Israeli army had placed boulders at the entrance to Sinjil—a Palestinian town in the central West Bank—blocking it off from the outside world. A local Palestinian woman contacted me, persistently urging me to “tell President Bush to end the occupation.” And doing everything possible within my realm of control, I ...

With the COVID-19 pandemic raging in the United States, rural Americans find themselves trapped in a whirlwind of misinformation and distrust as they seek answers for questions like the following: “Is the pandemic really as bad as the media portrays?”