Is Inequality Making Us Sick?
by Jenna Pollock
AVODAH New Orleans Corps Member
IS INEQUALITY MAKING US SICK? COMMUNITY PARTNERS PRESENT GROUND-BREAKING DOCUMENTARY
UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? is a groundbreaking new documentary series that crisscrosses the country exploring how the social conditions in which Americans are born, live and work profoundly affect health and longevity, even more than medical care, behaviors and genes. This four-hour television and DVD series challenges fundamental beliefs about what makes Americans healthy - or sick - and offers new remedies for an ailing society.
This FREE series is presented locally by the Tulane Community Health Center at Covenant House and Community Book Center. Each evening features one-hour of the documentary along with a local speaker working on issues such as housing, healthcare, and immigration in New Orleans. Refreshments available.
WHEN: May 29th, May 30th, June 5th, and June 6th. All events will run from 6-8pm
Friday, May 29th, 2009 – Race and Health, with speaker Barbara Major Episodes: When the Bough Breaks and Collateral Damage
Saturday, May 30th, 2009 – Housing and Health, with speaker Kate Scott
Episodes: Place Matters and Not Just a Paycheck
Friday, June 5th, 2009 – Wealth and Health, with speaker Karen DeSalvo
Episodes: In Sickness and in Wealth
Saturday, June 6th, 2009 – Immigration and Health, with speakers Narda Hernandez and Kathia Duran
Episodes: Becoming American and Bad Sugar
WHERE: Community Book Center, 2523 Bayou Road
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This press release is a document I developed in conjunction with Vera Warren-Williams at the Community Book Center, a neighborhood institution for over 25 years. The screening series is a product of our conversations about how to most effectively address community health - collaboration was and is at the top of the list. That Tulane’s Community Health Center at Covenant House is involved speaks to its new commitment to and capacity for community engagement, beyond referrals for clinical appointments. We are participating in health events offering screenings for different churches and community groups more than we ever have before. We are sending our physicians, nurse practitioners, and medical office assistants to community centers and churches to speak about topics such as cancer prevention for women, sexual health for teens, and heart disease and hypertension. Currently we are trying to figure out the best way to balance our resources with our community partner’s needs and interests. In June we are launching a Patient Advisory Council to emphasize communication and collaboration between patients and health center staff. We are also coordinating in exciting ways with other health centers in the city.
In addition, we recognize that even if we could offer the best primary care, that alone does not increase our ability to make people better. Community health is, as the name suggests, much larger than the individual’s symptoms and conditions. To improve community health we must all come together to fight for a clearer understanding of the social factors that influence health. We must address the reality that exercising and eating right will not necessarily reduce your risk of high blood pressure, but being wealthy and white will. What will we do with this knowledge? Hopefully this screening series will start the discussion.
We plan to follow up with additional screenings in various communities around the city. Check out www.unnaturalcauses.org for more information on the documentary, www.tuchc.org for more on the health center, and www.communitybookcenter.com for more on the Community Book Center.
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