Breaking The Cycle Of Racism In The Healthcare Industry, Focus Of Film And Workshop

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 22 Jan 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Racism in the healthcare system is the focus of a documentary film and workshop that will take place January 22 at 4:30 p.m. in the Yale School of Medicine, Jane E. Hope Building, 315 Cedar St.

The 55-minute film titled "The Deadliest Disease in America," is produced by Crystal Emery, executive director of URU, The Right to Be Inc., a non-profit, community-based organization that focuses on ways to reduce disparities and achieve greater health equity in the United States.

The documentary follows Emery and three other people whose personal stories add to the national debate on the country's healthcare crisis. Emery shares her own experience as an African American encountering racism while navigating the healthcare system.

Forrester "Woody" Lee, M.D., associate dean at Yale School of Medicine said, "With an astonishing capacity to see, understand and represent truth, Crystal Emery confronts racism in our healthcare system. In producing this documentary, she gives voice to events and stories that for far too long have been ignored and devalued."

Lee adds, "Her film forces medical practitioners to consider how racism has infected the body of medical practice. We are invited to heal ourselves through contemplation, dialogue and action."

Emery, whose arms and legs are paralyzed as a result of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a form of muscular dystrophy, said, "It is my hope that sharing these stories will stimulate conversations that move individuals to action. The ultimate goal is to illuminate disparate treatment based on racial, economic and ethnic differences in order to achieve a healthcare system that serves all Americans equally."

The workshop will follow the film and the evening will wrap up with a Q&A session and dinner. For more information about the film and to view a trailer, please visit URU's website at http://www.urutherighttobe.org or call 203-392-0983.

YALE