Combating Discrimination in Healthcare: How Can You Get Involved?

Like yourself, many healthcare students, established providers, and university professors are concerned about patients in marginalized groups due to the inequities they face. This frustration is compounded by knowledge of attacks on equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) efforts in healthcare. What if there was a way to close some of the gaps and improve crucial services for underserved populations without increased hostility [1]?

Feeling frustrated or anxious about the current healthcare landscape is understandable. Medical institutions and professional organizations have become battlegrounds for attacks on EDIB efforts that originated from higher education inclusion programs. For example, a lawsuit against the Medical Board of California aims to stop a one-hour CME training on implicit bias [2]. One hour. Moreover, a recent study outside of the healthcare setting found that opposition toward a marginalized group can grow when just one person displays discriminatory behavior [3]. Taken to extremes, prejudicial acts have negatively impacted people within all levels of society and could continue to do so if no intervention efforts are made.

Lori Tarke, DHsc, an executive director and EDIB strategist in New Jersey, has paid attention. “So many of my students, colleagues, friends, and family members were distressed by experiences of discrimination,” she says. In response to these experiences, Dr. Tarke gathered a team of volunteers to create Bridge to Visibility (BTV), a nonprofit organization that increases the representation of minoritized patients, students, and providers through healthcare conferences. “Rise Up, our first healthcare conference in September 2023, was held to address the systemic issues affecting the LGBTQ+ population,” recalls Dr. Tarke. “Later, we expanded our focus to include the Latinx and African-American communities. People in these and other minority groups face health equity issues, such as a lack of access to quality care and providers who understand them.” 

Sponsored by Atlantic Health System, the first Rise Up LGBTQ+ healthcare conference was held on the campus of St. Elizabeth’s University in Florham Park. This conference brought people together to discuss trauma-informed care for youth, normalize the creation of non-traditional families, and spotlight the challenges of older adulthood, among other topics. “Attendees experienced a much-needed event that encouraged ‘pride’ on a deeper level and in a more comprehensive, health-centered arena,” says Tarke. “They were grateful to be able to collaborate with like-minded professionals within a celebratory learning environment. People were moved to tears because they needed a venue like this to validate their concerns, motivate them to take action, and create avenues for opportunity. It was lovely to see.” 

BTV’s next Rise Up conference will entertain attendees while delving even more deeply into effective ways of improving healthcare experiences and outcomes for LGBTQ+ community members. The event will be held in September 2024 at the Galloping Hill Park and Golf Course in Kenilworth. “Sabrina Dias from The Voice will perform and our honorees are inspiring members of their individual communities, which I think everyone will appreciate,” says Dr. Tarke. The upcoming conference will offer workshops and seminars on such topics as financial abuse among the elderly, a whole-person approach to health, intimate partner violence, minority stress, the representation of grief and healing in writing, and the prevention of and treatment options for sexually transmitted infections.

And if that isn’t enough, in February 2025, the Adelantando Healthcare Conference will bring together some of the most powerful voices in the Latine/o/a/x community. “Interacting with providers who are better equipped to support community needs and potential future colleagues—all gathered together for a full day—is a fantastic and rare networking opportunity,” says Dr. Tarke. “Most people don’t usually get a chance to meet these types of individuals outside of a clinical setting, but this conference will create unique opportunities for aligned discussion and collaboration.”

Last but not least, attending Thrive, the BTV conference in November 2025, could motivate you and other like-minded people to take action on behalf of the Black community. “Our goal with this event is to inspire even more students from the African-American community to become healthcare providers and to educate current providers about important healthcare issues facing the African-American community,” explains Dr. Tarke. BTV is also currently accepting nominations for five awards: Excellence in Education, Healthcare, Service, Courage and Visibility, and Lifetime Achievement. To nominate someone, send an email to contact@bridgetovisibility.org.

Bridge to Visibility is here to stay, but the organization could use your help. “As long as we can sustain our conferences, we will continue to offer them,” says Tarke. “We’re an all-volunteer organization, so support and involvement from the larger community are essential.”

Visit Bridge to Visibility to learn more about its upcoming events, inquire about volunteering, or buy tickets for yourself or a friend.

Photo credit: Lori Tarke, DHsc

References

1.   Health Disparities: Creating Health Care Equity for Minorities. United Way NCA. Accessed July 16, 2024. https://unitedwaynca.org/blog/healthcare-disparities/

2.   Blackstock OJ, Isom JE, Legha RK. Health care is the new battlefront for anti-DEI attacks. Opara IN, ed. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024;4(4):e0003131. doi:10.1371/journal.pgph.0003131

3.   Hostility towards minorities can be contagious. ScienceDaily. Accessed July 16, 2024. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180509093843.htm