BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) – Government agencies and community advocates gathered on Wednesday, April 12 to hold a listening panel. The purpose of the panel was to encourage conversations and find solutions to the apparent health care inequities faced by Black and other communities of color.
According to California Health Care Foundation31% of African Americans admit to being treated poorly by a medical professional because of their race or ethnicity.
Statistics like this encourage Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services And Kern Health Systems to come together and create a safe space where people can talk about their concerns, share their experiences and discuss what they think needs to be done about it.
Associate Vice-Chancellor for the Kern Community College District Jessica Grimes discusses the barriers she thinks black people face when seeking medical help.
“Access to health care is sometimes a leap of faith and fear and that’s something that can’t necessarily be eliminated just with education,” Grimes said. “There’s relationship building which I think is very, very important.”
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Grimes says building those relationships requires a sincere and sustained effort to connect with the community.
Traco Matthews, director of health equity for Kern Health Systems, agrees.
“If you want to build and build trust with different communities and health care systems, you have to talk to them. You have to understand where they’re coming from, what their experiences are like, and that’s the power of conversations,” said Matthews. “Really just take the time to listen.”
Matthews adds that once an agreement has been reached, it’s much easier to find solutions that work for everyone involved.
This was just one of many topics discussed during Wednesday’s listening panel. Panelists spoke not only about their own experiences with healthcare professionals, but also about ways to benefit different communities of care, including youth, seniors, and LGBTQIA+ people.
Director of Public Relations and Business Development for Health-focused Michael Bowers spoke about the fact that many black communities simply lack the resources that other groups have, which can lead to a disconnect between black people and healthcare professionals.
“I would love to go to some churches and look back and say, ‘Hey, there’s a dental clinic in your community. There is an eye clinic in your community. These things happen, “and I think it’s going to be important to move the needle,” Bowers said.
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Kern’s Director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, Stacy Kuwahara, said the panel was an opportunity to get community leaders and healthcare providers to start thinking about and implementing ways to bridging the accessibility gap.
“We really hope that coming out of today we have some clear and actionable things that we’re going to take from this conversation and move forward in a meaningful way,” Kuwahara said.
Other community organizations were also at the table, including the Kern County Black Chamber of CommerceTHE Kern County African American NetworkAnd upside down academy.
Natesha Johnson, the owner of Upside Academy, spoke about issues with communication barriers between black people and healthcare providers.
“We all speak differently. Our experiences are different. We’re raised differently, so I may communicate differently, but that shouldn’t interfere with the care service I receive,” Johnson said.
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Johnson went on to add that one of the first steps toward better communication of medical needs is to increase cultural competency so that people talk to each other rather than each other.
Organizers of Wednesday’s listening panel say it’s the first in a long series, and they hope to hold more panels like this to speak to the Hispanic community, as well as other marginalized communities.