Chelsea Dade
Wow…how to begin. When I first read about Dr. Susan Moore’s death, I almost didn’t want to believe it was true. Like many others, I read the articles online, visited the tweet threads by the phenomenal healthcare professionals that I follow, and watched the reporting of her story on the news. But I still didn’t want to believe it was true. A doctor, a Black woman, was denied treatment for her pain, ignored, all while suffering from COVID-19, and subsequently passed away after. It was, and is, too much to bear.
If you’ve been following CFHJ for a while, you know that the focus of this platform has evolved over time. But the mission remains the same. We discuss and share stories that mainstream healthcare neglects. Dr. Moore is one example that we should not have to discuss, but here we are. Perhaps it was due to the second wave of Black Lives Matter, or the emergence of COVID-19, but this year we’ve answered the call to place an even stronger focus on health equity, especially for Black communities.
Are health care systems adequately answering this call too? Are public health agencies turning their attention, and grant funding, towards investing in minoritized communities? Or has it remained business as usual? This brings me back to the late Dr. Susan Moore. Why are some health care groups refusing to #SayHerName? To say Dr. Moore’s name is not solely the role of healthcare professionals. We need organizations to speak up when a wrong like this has been done. Systems can’t in one breath say they support health equity and oppose racism, then ignore or refuse to comment on a death transpired by health inequity and racism.
What happened to the bevy of calls stating #BlackLivesMatter a few months ago? Where is that energy?
I like to think that I am but one cog in the machine for health equity. I’m not a healthcare provider, I’m not a social worker, I’m not a teacher or a CEO of a health system. But regardless of our position in this society, we all have the opportunity to say something. I am a communicator with a mission to change people’s minds, and sometimes hearts. And each day, I try my best to do my part by highlighting health inequity exacerbated by racism because of Dr. Susan Moore. Because of Breonna Taylor, an award-winning EMT. Because of many other Black women who have been neglected and mistreated for centuries because of their gender and color of skin. Because each day, I choose to ask myself, “if I don’t speak up, who will?”
In 2021, I challenge more people to begin asking themselves this same question and to remain consistent when speaking up for the protection of Black lives.
To learn more about Dr. Moore, I encourage you to read the op-ed, #SayHerName: Dr. Susan Moore.