Missing Persons: Minorities in Healthcare

Black Student Union is a newly brought back club this semester and they have started off with a hit. On February 26, 2019 BSU kicked off its first event/panel : “Missing Persons: Minorities in Healthcare” where four healthcare providers volunteered their time to discuss multiple issues that minority healthcare providers are facing in America. The four speakers at this event were Dr. Warner, Dr. Weeks, Titilayo Westover, and Dr. Wafo.

Dr. Warner is a cancer epidemiologist who studies how lifestyle, behavioral, and genetic factors affect the risk of cancer. She is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, a research associate at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the Department of Epidemiology, an Assistant Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital where she conducts epidemiological research on cancer, and a member of the Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center in the Cancer Epidemiology and Risk and Health Disparities Programs.

Dr. Weeks is a Clinical Fellow in Hematology and Oncology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She has worked with hospital leadership to educate physicians on social medicine, cultural awareness, implicit bias, and the various intersections of race and the practice of medicine and she developed residency curricula for managing racist patients and recognizing implicit bias. She also designed a community home visit curriculum which seeks to enhance resident management of socially complex and vulnerable patients while encouraging engagement with the communities around Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Titilayo Westover is a hospice and palliative registered nurse. She was an Assistant Research Manager at Brigham and Women’s in the Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Biology with over ten publications. She received her Associate Degree in Nursing from Roxbury Community College in 2013 and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Curry College in 2017. She is currently at Simmons University pursuing her degree in Family Nurse Practitioner. She has initiated many culture sensitivity educational projects at Mount Auburn Hospital and Hebrew Senior Life. She has been a part in projects that teach medical students about cultural sensitivities in care and hospice care.

Dr. Wafo is the Pharmacy Manager at CVS Health. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and received her PharmD form MCPHS University. She also holds her Master’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. She was a Teaching assistant and a peer tutor during her time at UMass Lowell and she has been a part of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers Community Health Corps.

During this event, the panelists were asked a series of questions regarding their accomplishments and their view on the problems that face minorities in healthcare today. The panelists were asked questions like “What does it mean to be a Black healthcare professional in America?”, “What did it take for you to get to that position?”, and other questions similar to this. This event was a great way for students of minorities to learn about admirable and successful minorities in the medical field and Black Student Union hosted this event to help celebrate Black History Month. BSU has had an amazing start to the semester with this educational event and as a school, we are looking forward to the future events that they host.

Information Compiled by Kearvyn Arne, Public Health '19

The students of Black Student Union with the four panelists.

MCPHS students taking in the advice of the panelists.

The four panelists sharing their experiences.

Volume 1, Issue #1 (March 1, 2019)