How leadership and equity impacts health care & why it matters
This week we watched history unfold: the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court.
She is the first African American woman in United States history to reach this position. It has taken a long time, considering the Supreme Court is a 232-year old institution.
When the news alert ‘dinged’ on my phone announcing this confirmation, I got chills. It is hard to put into words the feeling of hope, pride and encouragement I felt in that moment!
What was your reaction to the Senate Judiciary confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court? Jump into the discussion and share!
For many African Americans, the confirmation is especially affirming, after watching the confirmation hearings. Seeing and hearing the level of disrespect towards Judge Brown Jackson from so many elected lawmakers – primarily old white men – was beyond disheartening.
The key word here is old. Typically I don’t use that word but in this case, it is fitting. This generation of policy-makers are part of a growing segment of the population who will need health-care support services as they age. Party affiliation nor skin color stops the march of time.
To witness such lack of respect makes me question these lawmakers’ commitments to policies which impact elders, thousands who don’t look like them. I can’t help but wonder, ‘Is there a similar lack of regard or care when it comes to how decisions are made and if all Americans are being considered?’
Watching the confirmation hearings hurt my heart on so many levels. It was exhausting and discouraging. Just when one believes society is turning a corner towards greater equity and fairness – the words and actions of those lawmakers seemed to indicate otherwise.
Power struggle vs. equity
Why and what does this have to do with caregiving? More than you might think.
For those who are now all ‘twisted-up’ believing that somehow the appointment of an African American woman to the U.S. Supreme Court equals the erosion of a patriarchal system led by white men – think again.
The reality is much different when it comes to the day-to-day challenges for families and elders (of all backgrounds) in our country. However, across the spectrum of care, research supports that people of color remain at many social, economic and health disadvantages.
I’ve shared with you I am one of a handful of individuals working in the aging space, named as fellows to the ASA Rise program – focused on the impacts of diversity, equity and inclusion (or lack thereof in many cases) across all sectors of the aging industry.
Ironically, at the same time word of Judge Jackson’s confirmation was blasting across news platforms, KIRC was taking part in a training session with the American Society on Aging.
In one moment, I was feeling elation knowing that finally – someone who looks like me – has a seat at the table of the highest court in the land.
In the next moment, I was reading through a new 36-page research-driven report from the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc.
Courtesy: National Caucus and Center on Black Aging
The report, Black and Aging in America, paints a grim picture of our health care metrics, and pretty much every other associated support service impacting health for people of color.
Here’s just one paragraph from the findings:
Across the spectrum of American life, African Americans and other People of Color suffer inequities in nearly all quality-of-life indices, cradle-to-grave: health, net wealth employment, education, housing, and longevity. These disparities are not only different for the older Black population, but more pronounced. While they share a generation with elders of other races and ethnicities, much of the commonality ends there, as Older African Americans face an excessive number of challenges and disadvantages, particularly compared to White elders.
African Americans and Black immigrants account for 5.2 million of the country’s 65-and-older cohort. That number is expected to double by 2050, when Older African Americans will compose nearly 13 percent of the older adult population.
Sigh… and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
I urge you to check out the full report to have a better understanding of why it is so important to get involved and educate yourself BEFORE a crisis hits.
BIPOC health disparities
It is not just African Americans facing health hurdles, nor is it only here in the United States.
In Ottawa, there have been ongoing complaints from a facility caring for Inuit elders.
Here’s an excerpt from a recent article from The Globe and Mail:
The territory of Nunavut, which is home to 39,000 people in 25 fly-in communities spread across three time zones, does not have enough assisted-living or continuing-care beds to meet the needs of its population. Nunavut does not have any facilities capable of caring for patients with advanced dementia.
As a result, the territorial government often sends elders thousands of kilometres away to Embassy West, an Ottawa retirement home that specializes in dementia care. Thirty-three Nunavummiut live there now, according to the Nunavut Department of Health.
What next?
So yes, this week was a triumph – of sorts. It was also another wake-up call that there is still much work to be done.
Ready to roll up your sleeves? Keeping it REAL Caregiving will be attending the American Society on Aging Conference coming up in New Orleans. Look for live reports on social media and regular updates on news and information from the conference, throughout the week!
Until next time~
*Header Image: WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 22: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies on her nomination to become an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court during the Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill March 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court, will begin four days of nomination hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Jackson would become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. (Photo by Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images)*
Like our content? We invite you to leave a comment and say hello!