Black Lives Matter: TBSM Statement

We as Tampa Bay Street Medicine are committed to serving all people in need of healthcare regardless of race, ability to pay, or housing status.

We believe there is absolutely no place for hateful rhetoric or behavior towards any person.

We stand with the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless other victims of the unjust perpetuation of systemic and individual racism against the Black community.

We must stop alienating our neighbors and hiding behind walls that seek to divide us. We must openly admit that disparities exist, and work diligently, using our roles as healthcare providers, to change institutional culture in the United States and the Tampa Bay area.

For too long, the Black community has suffered from gross inequities in healthcare access, treatment, and outcomes. Examples include lower screening and higher mortality rates of various cancers; higher prevalence of hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and stroke; and nearly 3-times higher likelihood of mothers dying during childbirth[1]. Furthermore, Black Americans are almost twice as likely to be uninsured, or to lose insurance within one year[2].

Our student leadership board lacks diversity; we are committed seeking engagement from Black USF Health students across disciplines to ensure that all cultural priorities are represented in our clinical and community-based efforts.

We encourage students, faculty, and our community partners to reflect on their role in bringing about desperately needed change. Our nation is facing a public health crisis in health disparities caused by socioeconomic, educational, and justice inequalities[3],[4]. Urgency is necessary to education everyone on how systemic oppression, privilege, implicit bias[5], and structural racism[6] are deeply embedded in our healthcare system. We must confront injustices in day-to-day conversations remembering that true activism spans beyond awareness.

We would like to provide resources to help educate and enact change. Below are starter lists for reading and watching provided by USF SNMA. Click here for a robust, but by all means not wholly comprehensive, racial justice resource (includes educational, volunteering, donation, and mental health information).

[1] Petersen EE, Davis NL, Goodman D, et al. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pregnancy-Related Deaths - United States, 2007-2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(35):762‐765. Published 2019 Sep 6. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6835a3

[2] Sohn H. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage: Dynamics of Gaining and Losing Coverage over the Life-Course. Popul Res Policy Rev. 2017;36(2):181‐201. doi:10.1007/s11113-016-9416-y

[3] Harris, A. P., & Pamukcu, A. The Civil Rights of Health: A New Approach to Challenging Structural Inequality. UCLA Law Review, Forthcoming. 2019.

[4] Fiscella K, Williams DR. Health disparities based on socioeconomic inequities: implications for urban health care. Academic Medicine. 2004 Dec 1;79(12):1139-47.

[5] Dehon E, Weiss N, Jones J, Faulconer W, Hinton E, Sterling S. A Systematic Review of the Impact of Physician Implicit Racial Bias on Clinical Decision Making. Acad Emerg Med. 2017;24(8):895‐904. doi:10.1111/acem.13214

[6] Bailey ZD, Krieger N, Agénor M, Graves J, Linos N, Bassett MT. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. The Lancet. 2017 Apr 8;389(10077):1453-63.