Reflecting on this past year during my pre-dawn elliptical session while reading medical journals, I was inspired by an article in JAMA describing the legacy of the 1st Black physician in the U.S., Dr. James McCune Smith. He was considered the foremost Black Intellectual of the 19th Century, fluent in French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Spanish and author of over 100 articles,  a pioneer of early research on relationships of social disadvantage and health outcomes.  Dr. Smith refuted the notion that differences in life expectancy were “biological” but more a reflection of psycho/socio/economic factors. Our work aspires to stand on the shoulders of such giants while also cultivating a pipeline of the next generation of future leaders.

We provided resources and linked many to care, eased pressure on the area ER’s straining under spring and summer Delta surges. We created an electronic information and data dashboard accessed by thousands monthly and have held uninterrupted weekly zooms since March 2019. We formed the Multicultural Action Team, #TheMAT,  our coalition of organizations fully embodying the theme #STRONGERTOGETHER. We provide data and informational support for the ‘Regional Shots in Arms” initiative chipping away at vaccine hesitancy with Black vaccination rate only 35% vs 70% for the overall community.

Last year this time, we had hope on the horizon as fast tracked vaccines began to roll off the shelf and into the arms of 1st responders wearily trudging through the mounting cases of Covid-19 overwhelming our health care systems. We are nearly 2 years into a pandemic that laid bare  historical inequities MHI has labored for a quarter century to address and reduce through solution oriented activities. Despite the devastation wrought in BIPOC communities, we celebrate the collective national and local responses. We amplified existent community intervention programs into front line efforts providing food, masks, hand sanitizers, information, screenings, care coordination and most of all HOPE. We joyfully celebrated at our first annual fundraiser reflecting on 25 years of impactful service from California to Florida.

Our extraordinary efforts have been recognized in local and national TV, Radio and print media, through a variety of awards from faith based and advocacy organizations, but most importantly, we believe contributed to saving numerous lives and reducing the degree of suffering. Our landmark February vaccine coalition convening led to implementation of more equitable delivery of vaccines . The report of this work, documenting doubling the rate of vaccination in BIPOC communities in our region, was part of a national lecture and subsequently accepted for publication in the Journal of the National Medical Association.  We are in the next phase of sharing and refining crucial lessons learned with other regions so such efforts can be reproduced and more people helped by “Like Faces in Like Places”. 

We look forward to continuing the strong work of care coordination and navigation needed to keep pressure off overburdened ER systems through an emerging partnership with the Sarasota health department, as well as coordinating with the Gulf Coast Medical Society cultivating the pipeline of future health leaders. Our hyperlocal data analysis services will expand in collaboration with the Resilient American Coalition, New College of Florida, Cobb Institute and National Medical Association throughout 2022.  We are excited about expanding communications and digital education efforts with consultants from The University of the Western Cape in South Africa. We thank our team and colleagues for their steadfast exceptional work and all of our readers for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you at a zoom, healing circle or other event soon.

All the best to you and yours for a happy, healthy and safe New year!