The Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee convened a special hearing to address the impact of COVID-19 on the African American community on June 4th, 2020. A panel of nine healthcare practitioners and researchers delivered testimony on the devastating effect of COVID-19 on this particularly vulnerable community. The panel was hosted by Senator Lisa Boscola (Chair), Senator Art Haywood, Senator Sharif Street, Senator Tony Williams, and Senator Vincent Hughes.
Two members of the NMA surgical section were invited to address the Senate Committee on this important issue. Dr. Orlando Kirton, Chair, Jefferson Department of Surgery, Abbington Hospital discussed the impact of COVID-19 as well as the impact of the Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity which has developed several initiatives aimed at significantly improving health outcomes. Dr. Shaneeta Johnson, Associate Professor of Surgery and Senior Fellow of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine discussed the data which demonstrate the disparate impact of COVID-19 on African Americans, etiologies for these health inequities, and the implications of these disparities. Proposals for improving healthcare and healthcare delivery were recommended by the panel that may result in policies that address and potentially eliminate these health disparities.