| Dear Friend,
As an adolescent medicine physician at People’s Community Clinic, I’m concerned that the debate for opening schools misses one key point. While everyone can agree that learning together is far superior to learning remotely (see recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics), decision makers are ignoring the lack of trust from those who would shoulder the greatest risk: our under-served and overwhelmingly minority neighbors.
Fear of COVID-19 grows as the number of infected Americans grows, but fear is not the entire story. We overcome fear every time we drive on the highway, fly in a plane and even try new foods.
Our lives are inherently risky. Yet we must acknowledge that opening schools poses an even greater risk for minorities who have been taught by society that their safety is less valued. The risks in returning to school are unevenly distributed across age, race, and socioeconomic status because the school system and health system have been unevenly resourced prior to the current crisis.
Across the country, communities of color are far more likely to suffer infection and hospitalization. According to the CDC, you are nearly 5 times more likely to be hospitalized by COVID if you are black, versus white. In fact, over 95% of COVID patients at People’s Community Clinic are Hispanic, even though Latinos make up 86% of the clinic’s patient population.
These stats remind us of the numerous ways social inequities play out across every sector of society, often in deadly ways.
People’s is on the frontlines of this pandemic, doing our best to level the social inequities that impact health. We are testing and caring for COVID patients and supporting all patients with the many tools that we have. We’ve adopted telemedicine to minimize risk and make it possible for patients to see a provider from the comfort of their home. We continue to offer the full range of services including reproductive health care, behavioral health therapy, diabetes management, and legal help, just to name a few.
My hope is that with strong supporters in our corner like you we can continue to keep our footing even as COVID threatens the health—and lives—of the most vulnerable residents in the Austin area.
Thank you for being here for us. Thank you for continuing to show up for the fight to improve the health of Central Texans.
Sincerely,
Jeff Hutchinson, MD
People’s Community Clinic
Dr. Hutchinson is a pediatric medicine specialist at People’s Center for Adolescent Health. He has over twenty years’ experience in health care and academic leadership. |
