The Board of Directors of the Committee on Native American Child Health (CONACH) have appointed Jason Deen as 2024 Committee Chairperson! The Committee on Native American Child Health (CONACH) advocates for the health and social needs of American Indian/Alaska Native children by collaborating with tribal, urban, and IHS programs, and staying updated on relevant legislation. They meet biannually to strategize and promote interdisciplinary collaboration through events like the International Meeting… Read more: Jason Deen appointed to serve as Committee Chairperson of CONACH

Darlin Lozano, LGBTQ program manager in Office of Healthcare Equity talks about the importance of gender affirming care and gender euphoria. Original post on UW Medicine.

Martine Pierre-Louis, MPH, has been awarded the 2023 John R. Pettit Endowed Leadership Award for her role as director of equity, diversity, and inclusion at Harborview Medical Center. A leader of inclusion and equity, Martine is recognized for her communication skills and ability to remain calm under stress. She is inspired by colleagues who strive to make UW Medicine more equitable. The Pettit Award recognizes excellence in an administrative role.

I am tired. The Office of Healthcare Equity (OHCE) has been in existence only for 2.5 years and we have just released our fifth statement expressing outrage and condemning the murder of a Black person in this country.  I am tired of hearing that our systems are broken, when we know that they are working exactly as they were designed to. Our criminal justice and healthcare systems were built on… Read more: I am tired.

“Congratulations to “Local Hero” Dr. Peter Asante! Congratulations to Yakima pediatrician Dr. Peter Asante for winning the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Community Pediatrics “Local Hero” award, just one of five pediatricians in the U.S. to earn this national recognition! The Local Hero Award recognizes pediatricians who lead community action and advocacy for children in local communities. This award is presented to individuals who epitomize the “community pediatrician.” Dr.… Read more: Congratulations to “Local Hero” Dr. Peter Asante!

Welcome to The Praxis— Hosted by Edwin Lindo, JD this podcast is connecting theory and practice for health justice. His podcast aims to directly address and explore the effects of racism and other forms of marginalization so that we can collectively achieve health justice. We will journey through history, theory, science & medicine by embracing storytelling, interviews, and community expertise. Subscribe today and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or streaming service of your… Read more: The Praxis

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that bans on transgender care by Medicaid and state plans are unconstitutional, recognizing transgender people as a protected class and declaring such exclusions as discriminatory based on gender identity and sex. This decision upholds lower court rulings against North Carolina and West Virginia, which had denied gender-affirming care to transgender state employees and Medicaid recipients, dismissing state arguments that the exclusions applied… Read more: 4th Circuit: Gender Identity Is A Protected Characteristic, Blocks State Coverage Bans

Across the country, nearly 9 million people identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, and many call the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) region home. According to Indian Health Services, there’s a physician shortage ― a health-professional vacancy rate of 25% ― among doctors who care for this population. The UW School of Medicine and the UW Medicine Office of Graduate Medical Education are working to improve those statistics and increase the… Read more: Increasing Access to Physicians for American Indian Communities

Assistant Director of Center for Restorative Practices Shape the future of restorative justice in our diverse healthcare community. As Assistant Director of Center for Restorative Practices (Job profile: Assistant Director-Program Operations (E S 9)), you’ll build and lead the Center for Restorative Practices (CRP), advancing UW Medicine’s equity mission. This leadership role contributes significantly to creating a more just and equitable healthcare system for all. Responsibilities include: Overall leadership and… Read more: Job Opportunity: Assistant Director of Center for Restorative Practices

Discover groundbreaking efforts to dismantle racism in reproductive health in the October 2023 special edition of Obstetrics & Gynecology, titled “Racism in Reproductive Health: Lighting a Path to Health Equity.” This compelling issue, compiled by over 1,100 experts including Dr. Kemi Doll and Edwin Lindo, JD, explores deep-seated healthcare inequities and proposes robust solutions. Read the article here: https://huddle.uwmedicine.org/reproductive-justice-ob-gyn/

UW Disability Studies Faculty Drs. Heather Evans and Heather Feldner invite you to participate in a Disability Allyship 26-day Challenge. Starting on April 5th, we challenge you to spend 5-20 mins every day for 26 days engaging with an item from a curated set of materials aimed to expand your knowledge of ableism and broaden your perspectives of disability. Visit the website for more information.

The recent spending bill introduced by Congress, which is designed to prevent a government shutdown, managed to omit most of the conservative policy riders aimed at limiting LGBTQ+ protections, including those against gender-affirming care and transgender athletes. Amidst significant negotiations and Republican efforts to enforce these provisions, the final bill includes just one anti-LGBTQ+ policy—a restriction on displaying pride flags on foreign embassy buildings, marking a significant victory for Democrats… Read more: Massive Defeat For Anti-Trans And Anti-LGBTQ+ Riders In Spending Bill As Dems Hold Firm

See and apply for the full position posting at this link: https://uwhires.admin.washington.edu/ENG/candidates/default.cfm?szCategory=jobprofile&jobhistory=1&szOrderID=232229 The School of Medicine has an outstanding opportunity for a Part-Time (50% FTE) HCOP Coach to join their team. The Counseling Services Coordinator is a hybrid, part-time position under the supervision of the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) Directors and the HCOP Associate Director. The Counseling Services Coordinator (working title: HCOP Coach) will provide substantive advising and student… Read more: Health Careers Opportunity Program Coach

Across UW Medicine, employees are championing equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives to grow and support the well-being of our community. From a book club to incorporating an equity lens into critical care curriculum, here is a small snapshot of a day in the life of employee-started initiatives funded by UW Medicine’s Well-Being Grants. Read more about a day in the life: https://huddle.uwmedicine.org/a-day-in-the-life-of-employees-fostering-equity-diversity-and-inclusion/

The Bias Reporting Tool is for sharing incidents of bias including racism, sexism, ableism, discrimination of any form or other behaviors that do not reflect the prioritization of inclusion and equity expected in all areas of our community. Here’s a link to the Huddle Article: https://huddle.uwmedicine.org/incidents-of-bias-reported-this-year-2022/?mkt_tok=MTMxLUFRTy0yMjUAAAGOvt71B0S2Sk_MiEoNrRiJ-NkilGLN3F0AaeEYicdk_Xh4qy_ggFeNMBdno2O5yE_JHyNzaPPv0maICRArVrhxU0T6g-nTxYKJBaqwrPiUWbKF-XpB Here’s the direct link to the community report: https://equity.uwmedicine.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/BRT__2022-ACR_Final.pdf 

The Latino Civic Alliance hosted its Latino Legislative Day in Olympia, Washington on January 22, 2024. Hundreds of participants attended the advocacy event, which featured speakers including, Representative Julio Cortes and Governor Jay Inslee, Chief Justice Steve Gonzalez, Representative Lillian Ortiz- Self, Representative Bill Ramos, Representative Alex Ybarra, Representative Emily Alvarado, Representative Sharlett Mena, and Senator Rebecca Saldana. Read more about 2024’s Latino Legislative Day: https://latinocenterforhealth.org/lch-participates-in-latino-legislative-day-dr-morales-presents-on-long-covid/

“Every aspect of health care is lacking in the valley,” Yakima Herald-Republic health reporter Santiago Ochoa tells me. In interview after interview, Yakima Valley residents and health care workers sketch in the details of a dire landscape. Read the full article on Oregonlive here: https://www.oregonlive.com/palabra/2024/01/long-covids-deep-impact-on-latinos.html

This report focuses on the outputs of the Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine inaugural Strategy Summitheld Oct. 20-21, 2022, in Washington, D.C. With over 100 participants that included individuals from high schools,colleges, and universities including HBCUs, medical schools, organizations representing students, higher education,youth development, community-based organizations, foundations, government agencies, health systems, andinsurers, we engaged in a series of strategy-development activities based on the initial work of the Action… Read more: AAMC Strategy Summit Proceedings

Despite the universality of death, many of us are not very comfortable with it — or with the grieving process. “The dominant culture in the US does not want to focus on sorrow and loss, grief, illness, aging or death. People who are grieving frequently report receiving messages that they need to ‘move on,’ achieve ‘closure’ or ‘get over it’ more than they are invited to continue sharing the story of… Read more: What Día de Muertos Can Teach Us About Healthy Grieving

2024 Distinguished Service Award We proudly recognize and acknowledge Frankie Manning, MSN, RN a nurse devoted to public service with a nursing career in roles within the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, on professional boards, as a faculty member for several academic nursing programs and through her service in the U.S. Army. She has consistently developed programs to enhance services to patients and communities. In the early 1970s, prior to… Read more: Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Awards