Huntsville Hospital leader explains why National Minority Health Month is a year-round priority for north Alabama
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - April is National Minority Health Month. It’s a way to highlight the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minority groups, and to reduce health disparities.
It’s also an issue one leader at Huntsville Hospital says is top-of-mind year-round. The president and chief operating officer of Huntsville Hospital, Tracy Doughty, hopes to raise awareness in the community by making the hospital’s presence known everywhere, including medically underserved areas.
The goal of National Minority Health Month is to encourage patients and healthcare professionals to take action through education, early detection, and control of disease complications, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This is important since the NAACP says African Americans have the highest mortality rate tied to diseases among any other race, and suffer the highest rates of medical disparities.
Doughty said Huntsville Hospital is working on a solution after realizing parts of town are short on primary care physicians.
“We personally think access is one of the major issues we have when it comes to health care, so we’re partnering with some local universities,” Doughty said. “We already have one clinic on Oakwood’s campus that serves that community. And we’ve just recently been working with Alabama A&M, and over the next six months we’ve already designed it. We’re about to build out a primary care clinic to serve that part of town.”
Doughty said they’re working on recruiting the right physician to help grow that practice.
This year’s theme for National Minority Health Month is “Be the Source for Better Health.”
Doughty said his team is hoping to be both the source and the classroom as they teach community members health education, and early detection.
Early detection is key, since there’s a disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in people from racial and ethnic minority groups, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Economic stability, education access, and health care access are also major factors.
And for people of color, the NAACP says geography, income, and race are longstanding predictors of health outcomes.
That’s why Doughty and his team are focused on getting the word out this month, and using the right approach.
“You have to educate in a culturally appropriate manner,” Doughty said. “We have to continue to put out information through all means. Through churches, through fraternities, sororities.”
He says the messaging is also represented in staff members. “Another thing that we’re working on is to make sure that we have a culture-appropriate health care staff. We’ve made a decision from our HR department, all the way up to our board, that our health care team needs to, as much as possible, mirror the community,” Doughty said. “People like to see somebody that looks like them when they’re walking in the door. I don’t care what somebody tells you. It’s the truth for 99% of people.”
In terms of education, awareness, and having a diverse staff, Huntsville Hospital partnered with Drake and the LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) program. Doughty says the hospital has about 60 LPNs going through the program, all from an HBCU. He adds that the hospital provides scholarships to 100% of them for their nursing time, and they have guaranteed jobs at Huntsville Hospital.
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