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NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Health disparities have existed for a long time, and the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the problem into focus. An upcoming event will focus on the issue.
The Louisiana Urban League and Ochsner Health have teamed up to host what is being called “The Biggest Health Event.” September 17th from 10am to 4pm at Ernest N. New Orleans. It will be held at Morial Convention Center.
Dr. Evens Laborde is the Medical Director of Global Health Education and Public Health at Ochsner.
“We want to change the paradigm,” Laborde said. “Obviously, because of Covid, it became incredibly clear how big the disparity was, especially in terms of the negative impact on health outcomes for African Americans.
Tyrone Walker is the vice president of the Louisiana Urban League.
“Health disparities mean that African Americans are contracting disease and dying at a faster rate than whites in our state, and the good news is, we can do something and that’s what the main health event is about,” he said.
Ochsner Health wants to take that directly, and one of the ways we do that is to acknowledge and understand the barriers that create those differences because they don’t exist in a vacuum, they’re long and historic. The foundations and processes of why things are the way they are, they don’t happen by accident,” Laborde says.
Access to health care appears to be a barrier for some in black and brown communities.
“One of the structural barriers that African Americans and other underserved and under-resourced communities have is access to care and also an issue of equity,” he said.
Some important medical tests are available at the event.
“We prioritize blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, lung screening, breast cancer screening, prostate cancer screenings because it’s free from a screening perspective,” says Laborde.
Louisiana ranks low on health-related metrics, he said.
“As a country, we are ranked 50th out of 50 states, according to the US Health Rankings, which is an annual analysis of the health status of the country, and so we have reached 50. This means that we are the unhealthiest state,” he said. . “And quantifying that accurately in terms of premature morbidity, mortality, burden of disease, loss of economic output, psychological burden.”
Areas such as social and economic factors, physical environment, clinical care, behaviors and health outcomes are considered to determine standards.
Anyone who lives in Louisiana, your race, your ethnicity, all of that aside, it’s a label that we all wear, you know, wherever you go in the United States, you come from a state where you belong. “The very unhealthy situation in terms of health outcomes in the country, that’s a reflection on everybody,” Laborde said.
He said the event will help health professionals learn from the community.
“Create a place where people feel welcome, where there are professionals and opportunities for us to help and learn from them, and one of the things I really want to emphasize is the importance of solidarity because injustice and disparities are ultimately everyone’s problems because we’re all negatively impacted,” Laborde said. .
Health problems are also seen in children.
“There’s no shortage of people who recognize that Louisiana is far too often at the bottom of all health indicators, and in fact, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released a report that states that the state doesn’t just stay in health. We rank last in health outcomes for our children,” Walker said.
The event will have activities for children and adults.
“We’re creating an experience where you can take a turbocharged health expo, complementing the Essence empowerment zone, where people come and have the opportunity to learn resources that will help you make better health choices,” Walker said.
There will also be activities for children.
“When you manage to stimulate young minds early and stimulate them, the more likely they are to pursue academic interests and other things of that nature,” Laborde said. “We know that one of the most important factors driving health outcomes is your level of education, so it’s no coincidence that we’re one of the regions with the highest rates of high school seniors and college graduates.”
And attendees will get tips on healthy cooking.
“Some of the best African American chefs in our city are going to be doing health demonstrations to teach people how to cook the favorite foods that we all enjoy as New Orleanians,” Walker said. . FOX 8 is one of the event’s partners.
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