COVID-19 Health Disparities in Buffalo, with Stan Martin & Ebony White

PhD Candidate Schuyler Lawson interviews Stan Martin of Cicatelli Associates, Inc., and Ebony White with the African-American Health Equity Task Force about health inequities in Buffalo's Black/African American communities in the COVID-19 era.

Resources:
GetMyFluShot.org

Credits:
Host/Writer/Researcher - Schuyler Lawson, PhD Candidate
Guests - Stan Martin, Ebony White
Audio Editor - Omar Brown

Intro 0:00
Hello and welcome to Buffalo HealthCast a podcast by students, faculty, and staff of the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions. We are your co-hosts, Tia Palermo, Jessica Kruger, Schuyler Lawson. In this podcast, we cover topics related to health equity here in Buffalo, around the US and globally. In this first semester of the podcast, we're taking a deeper look at racism and health. We'll be talking to experts around the US as well as individuals here on campus and in the Buffalo community who are working to remove inequities to improve population health and wellbeing. You'll hear from practitioners, researchers, students and faculty from other universities who have made positive changes to improve health equity and inclusion.

Schuyler Lawson 0:47
Alright, so hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Buffalo HealthCast. I'm your host, Schuyler Lawson, first year PhD candidate in Community Health and Health Hehavior. With us today is Stan Martin with Cicatelli Associates Incorporated, and Ebony White with the African American Health Equity Task Force. Thank you both for taking the time to be interviewed today. It's great to have you. So first off, can you tell us a little about yourselves?

Stan Martin 1:19
Sure. Why don't I go ahead and start us off?

Schuyler Lawson 1:24
Sure.

Stan Martin 1:25
Thank you, Schuyler, for the opportunity to be a part of the podcast and to share our program. Once again, my name is Stan Martin. I am a Project Director at Cicatelli Associates. I'm a native son of Buffalo, I like to say, so I've been away for a few years and recently moved back home, back to Buffalo, a place that I love and that's near and dear to my heart. So I'm looking forward to having our conversation today and share some of the work that we're doing here personally, as well as professionally. So thank you.

Schuyler Lawson 1:56
Great, great. And how about you, Ebony?

Ebony White 1:58
I'm Ebony White and I work with African American Health Task or Health Equity Task Force. So a lot of acronyms out here, and I have been working in the community for over 10 years. Most recently, I do a lot of work with the barber and beauty salons. That's where people first were introduced to me doing my work, and spreading all the education and knowledge to build health knowledge in building the capacity in our very own community. And I am a native of Buffalo, New York. So thank you this morning for having me.

Schuyler Lawson 2:34
You're very welcome. I was gonna ask you about being a Buffalo native, but you already answered that. I'm pretty fond of Buffalo too. I'm not a native, I'm actually an Alabama native. Birmingham, Alabama.

Stan Martin 2:50
Yeah, we won't hold it against you.

Schuyler Lawson 3:03
So now, I have another question. This one's more for Stan. So what is the mission of your organization, CAI?

Stan Martin 3:16
Yes, it actually is not my organization. I wish it was, but CAI was founded by Barbara Cicatelli over 40 years ago. Our headquarter's in New York City, we obviously have an office here in Buffalo, New York. Albany, New York. Atlanta. Denver, Colorado, as well as LA (Los Angeles), and we also have several satellite offices in Latin America, the DR (Dominican Republic) and El Salvador. So a lot of our work that we do is global, not just domestic. And our mission is really to utilize the transformative power of research and education to foster a more aware, healthy, compassionate, and equitable world. So it's a pretty lofty goal. And yet, it still is something that we thrive in terms of working towards. I look forward to doing it on a day to day basis. So I'm very proud to work at the organization. I've been with them for, actually, going on 10 years now. So it's very rewarding and gratifying. So thank you.

Schuyler Lawson 4:25
Those are impressive goals. And that's also a very impressive tenure, about 10 years. Very nice.

Stan Martin 4:31
Yeah, especially when we talk about reaching out, I should emphasize that our focus is on marginalized communities in particular, who have some of the greatest needs and the least amount of resources. So, given all that's happening in the world today, it's very gratifying.

Schuyler Lawson 4:53
That's definitely an important group to focus on. Shows there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. Actually, that's a good segue to my next question. So, CAI recently received a $2 million grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Adolescent Health, to focus on improving the lives and opportunities for adolescents by facilitating and resourcing a community driven response to reduce teen pregnancy in select zip codes in Erie County. Can you tell us more about how these zip codes of communities were chosen? And also, what barriers those adolescents face to getting accessible sexual and reproductive health care services?

Stan Martin 5:38
Thank you for the question. I think I should probably, as we say, utilize the sankofa principle; let's go back to go forward. So actually, the grant itself that you're referencing, our teen pregnancy prevention grant, through the Office of Population Affairs now, actually started five years ago. And it was really focusing on nine zip codes that had high rates of disparities of teen pregnancies, as well as STIs. And I want to preface it by saying, not that there was something going on in these nine zip codes, that weren't going on outside of these nine zip codes in terms of adolescent health and reproductive services. The important element, in my opinion, was that, having access or access to information, having access to resources, and dealing with the root causes of teen pregnancy, and also STIs, as well. So when we look at the root causes, then that allows us to not only look at why someone is getting pregnant or getting an STI, but what is it that have precipitated that experiment. So looking at education, looking at access to housing, looking at, believe it or not, like I said, housing, looking at employment opportunities, looking at the social determinants of health, as the root causes of some of these issues that we're facing, as opposed to looking at from the opposite lens, as being a teen parent, or a teen father, and then resulting into some of these other social determinants. So, having said that, when we started the initiative, we really went to the community and wanted to ask the community, how could we implement this program in a real authentic, participatory way? And after doing several listening sessions, conversations in the community, one of the things that resonated with the community, that came out of those discussion was HOPE. And Buffalo was, at that time, within the middle of this renaissance, but people were feeling like they weren't a part of this renaissance. So, HOPE actually stands for Health; making sure that our adolescents and adults have access to quality health care services. Opportunity; the opportunity to receive a quality education, opportunity for job employment, for placement. Prevention; if we can look at the root causes of some of these factors, and we can prevent it and promote a healthier lifestyle, why wouldn't we? Last but not least, E for Equitable; it's not all about being equal. It's all about addressing the health disparity through a lens of equity, so to speak. So that came from the community, and utilizing those concepts and those principles actually provided us opportunity to create a brand, in terms of HOPE Buffalo, for adolescents, for adults to wrap their arms, provide wraparound services to adolescents, and build a stronger, healthier, thriving community. Which led us to get refunded, just this past July, for a second round of really looking at how do we look at system change, policy changes that reinforces the environment that I just described to you, where every child has an opportunity to succeed, and access to quality health care services.

Schuyler Lawson 9:20
Given that you've been refunded, I assume that there's been some progress made in addressing this particular issue.

Stan Martin 9:30
Yes, when you look at what, for my five year program, my first initial cohort, we're crunching the numbers right now to look at where we are in terms of our nine zip codes. We know that, overall, that our teen pregnancy rates are the lowest that they've been in 30 years, which is saying a lot. And we also know that, as you mentioned earlier Schuyler, that there's still a lot of work to be done. We're proud of our successes in terms of being able to refer and make use of services to partner with other community organizations, including the Buffalo Public Schools. When you look at the enrollment of the Buffalo Public Schools, over 50%, I think close to 70% of the students, live in poverty or at the poverty level. So it's very important that we are engaged in the conversation. In addition to working with healthcare providers, making sure that they're meeting with leaders, students, adolescents, where they're at, and that is sometimes a challenge. And yet, it's still, it's the goal they'll understand that, as adults, our children have rights, especially here in New York State, when it comes to reproductive health and the amount of services and privacy and confidentiality. So we still have a lot of work to do. And I look forward to coming back on other shows, and pointing and sharing some of those numbers with you.

Schuyler Lawson 10:56
Absolutely, I look forward to that too. There's so many projects that this organization is doing, so it would definitely probably constitute multiple episodes to just adequately cover them all. Okay, so now, I did have a question about - you mentioned social determinants of health, and that's a great topic. That's talked about a lot at the UB School of Public Health. So regard to this particular project, what have you found are some of the social determinants of health that are sort of easier to address, like, for example, housing may be a heavier lift, as far as maybe addressing that, but are there some others that are kind of some of the ones that you focus on more readily, because they're, maybe, so to speak, lower hanging fruit that can be modified?

Stan Martin 11:46
Well, this work is very complex, so I don't know, necessarily, if I will use the term "easier". What I would say, what's really important is that the youth and the community are involved in everything that we do, and every decision that we make. From branding, to the delivery of interventions, to know how things are marketed. So, I think that is a critical point and critical piece that I would like to really shine a light on. Because when you look at COVID-19, when you look at where we are today, and how that has shined a light on the disparities that are impacting our community in terms of health, and chronic disease, etc. Essential workers- it's very important to have those, as we say, those contacts, those with those real life experience at the table, and that they are involved in the solution, and not always seen as a part of that problem. So, that has been, I would say, very important in order to address the social determinants of health, and then to eliminate some of these disparities that we've talked about thus far.

Schuyler Lawson 13:03
Thank you. So my next question is, what is the Tobacco Free Coalition? And what role does CAI play in it?

Stan Martin 13:15
Well, you know what. Can I sit with that question for a moment?

Schuyler Lawson 13:18
Sure, sure!

Stan Martin 13:19
Because I really want to - I would like to invite Ebony into the conversation.

Schuyler Lawson 13:25
Sure.

Stan Martin 13:25
She could speak for herself and has a lot of experience at the individual, at the community level, as well as the policy level as well. So, if you want to chime in or share a few words, in terms of working with adolescents in this area, or in our community, your experience, kind of addressing the social determinants of health, please, feel free.

Schuyler Lawson 13:48
Absolutely.

Ebony White 13:49
So what I will say, in reference to addressing social determinants of health, generally, we have focused on education, transportation, access to adequate health care. And primarily, I've worked between adolescents and adults, all the way to geriatrics. So trying to make sure we're working through community health workers have been pivotal in actually being boots on the ground and coming back, and helping us develop strategies that really assist to minimize those barriers. A lot of barriers are, of course, our education around it, and trust issues with our healthcare system. So I think I spend a lot of time getting word of mouth right from them. And I'll show back up at a meeting table and say, hey, listen, that didn't work. That strategy didn't work. It missed the group that we were attempting to support. So that's why I think it's very important to have those listening sessions, those focus groups, and come back to make sure that everything that we're doing is being helpful. I want to be going in the right direction. People improving their health, as it pertains to chronic diseases. So as I mentioned, in my introduction, I spent a lot of time in hypertension, assisting with hypertension in a barber shops. We just started the conversation in those barber shops and salons and that conversation kept buzzing around, and just how important that is. And it's the same way, currently, we're doing with starting those conversations about our initiative. And I think we're gonna segue right on to start talking about the REACH initiative, and all of those other things. So that's most of it. I get right to the people to make sure we we're getting the appropriate questions, we're addressing those barriers, and those misunderstandings, if you will.

Schuyler Lawson 15:38
I like that you mentioned the barber shop. That's an interesting - that's a good social location to reach African American men, and I think that's a really novel approach at trying to do outreach, as opposed to maybe some of the more traditional approaches. Have you found that to be more successful?

Ebony White 15:57
I've found it to be very successful. So we were able to do it in Erie County as well in Niagara County. What we found is those barbershops held those very intimate conversations, but we wanted to make sure that they had the right information. And we were able to work with another federally qualified entity to navigate individuals there. Because sometimes the healthcare provider wouldn't know some of the issues that men and women were having, but their barber would know, so it was intriguing. So my job was to make sure we gave them all the right information, gave them all the right tools to navigate to healthcare to get their needs met.

Schuyler Lawson 16:40
Yeah, and that is a great segue into our next question. So CAI and the African American Health Disparities Task Force both received annual grant funding, through 2023, from the CDC to address health disparities and rates of chronic disease. And this project was known as Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health, REACH for short. Can you both tell us more about this ambitious project?

Stan Martin 17:11
Sure. I think you hit the nail on the head earlier in your introduction. REACH is funded by the CDC, and when you look at health disparities here in Buffalo, in particular, we're one of 40 recipients from across the country that's working on reducing chronic disease amongst African Americans, as well as, I would say, communities of color specifically. So we look at them, think about cancer, diabetes, asthma, hypertension. Who are those individuals, those communities that are most affected by it? So here in Buffalo, our selected area, or, as we like to say, our area of focus, not just in terms of ethnicity, looking at geographically, it's across five zip codes here: The 14208, 14209, 14211, 14213, 14215 communities, and those community in particular, in chronic disease, startlingly, are 300 times more likely to have or, to be impacted by one of those kinds of disease, if not more, as opposed to those who live outside of the community in particular, white people. So, therefore, in order to address that health disparity, we've partnered with the African American Health Equity Task Force to look at not just how we can address those health disparities, but as I mentioned earlier, how can we eliminate those health disparities by focusing on the root causes of them? Now, I like to use analogy that some people may have heard before, where you have this community that's impacted, you by these health issues. And when do we finally say, for example, what's in the water? What is it that they're drinking? What is it that they're consuming before we finally actually go to the well and look in the well, what is the root causes? Utilizing that analogy, they say that we have to start going to the well, and saying what are the root causes, addressing them to eliminate them ultimately for communities that are disproportionately affected by them. So, Ebony probably would like to share some of her thoughts as well. So, I will go on mute and turn it over to you, pass the time to you, Ebony.

Ebony White 19:44
I totally agree with everything that Stan has shared - definitely getting to the well. Our listening sessions are opportunities for us to get to the well and figure out what's happening within our own culture, within our own behaviors, in those particular zip codes, and trying to shift. Trying to change many of our behavior patterns as it pertains to cardiovascular health, diabetes, cancer, all of those things that plague our communities year after year, and there is more and more data that says - I'll give you this. I was sitting in a meeting and they were showing some data about, if you are this age, you won't live to this age, because you'll more than likely be impacted by this, this and this. And I'm thinking, wow, they can literally project that I'm gonna be a goner? Because I live a particular way, and I live in a particular zip code. Wow. I just didn't feel comfortable. And that was my push to educate my community more. Someone is sitting in a room and they can, based upon your behavior, you're going in the direction that you will be gone before you're 62 versus your counterparts that live in different zip codes. That was my "aha" moment. That someone had that ability, that power, because of my behavior, or in people just where I live, that that would be the outcome for me. Then I said, not so, not so. So I do everything I can to educate, whether it's in our faith community, our medical community, our small groups, our pockets, our barbershops, our salons, our businesses, to make sure that is not the narrative for my community. So REACH is an acronym, but it's a beautiful word. So I'm reaching over, I'm reaching in, I'm going deep, I'm going under, I'm going high to doing everything I possibly can, through our strategies and innovative ways to get that communicated to our community members, our concern for them overall.

Stan Martin 22:01
And if I can just ask - thank you Ebony. Some of those strategies that we're doing implementing, thinking about increasing access to food and nutrition, addressing the issues of food deserts that are in our community, and how do we work with those businesses, those retailers, those barber shops that are in our community, to ensure that they are all capable, have the ability to provide access to fresh fruits, and vegetables? So food and nutrition, as one of our strategies, our area of focus, and another component of that, that we don't oftentimes think about, that has huge implications on one's development, is breastfeeding. Something that really early on from onset, from the cradle, through maturation, can have significant health benefits. So educating the community on the benefits of breastfeeding and providing access to those peer groups, so that women, as well as fathers, who can be a part of the conversation to encourage a healthier lifestyle. Also, we're working closely with health care providers to improve our community and clinical linkages, or relationships. There's a lot of historical trauma when you look at black and brown communities. That really presents a barrier for us to have bidirectional, two-way conversation. So how do we create an environment where there's trust, where there's rapport, where it's authentic, that we can have these open conversations, and that doctors, our physicians, healthcare providers are meeting their patients where they're at, and not closing and keeping at least the lines of communications open for that behavior change that avenue to describe? In addition, there's no secret from my lense that there's disparities in terms of tobacco use. Those who live a certain lifestyle, in terms of income, and education, are disproportionately affected by tobacco now, and tobacco is also heavily marketed or advertised in communities of color, more so than in other communities. So how do we not only reduce the prevalence of tobacco use, but also increased access for those who want to quit, to quit in terms of tobacco cessation? So we're trying to create change at the individual level. Also, we have to also address the built environment. The environment has to change, that supports the behavior change, and something that Ebony always oftentimes talks about, how do we provide opportunities to maintain and to sustain that over a longer period of time of lifespan? So those are just some of the strategies or areas that we're focused on. To improve health and wellness for residents who reside pretty much and along the Ferry Street corridor, from Bailey and Ferry, to the foot of Ferry or as some say today, Broderick Park, and I would say 4.4 miles along the Ferry Corridor, and East, North and South of Ferry as well. So it's roughly like a 4-mile radius.

Schuyler Lawson 25:26
Thank you both for providing detailed descriptions of the REACH program and the extent of its reach, which is now quite remarkable. I have another question about the REACH project. Do you have any notable milestones that you'd like to report, as far as the progress of the REACH project?

Stan Martin 25:52
In terms of milestones, I would like to say, due to our partnership with the African American Health Equity Task Force, we've been able to be recognized by the CDC for our work as a model within a short period of time. We're actually in year three of a five year grant. And because of this partnership that we have with the Task Force and the community, we had an opportunity to apply for some supplemental funding to address the disparities surrounding flu vaccinations. So, if you don't mind, Schuyler, once again, I like to pause and just ask Ebony to talk a little bit more about that from her perspective. And to me, I think that's a project that we both are very excited about. And then we have some things that we're working towards that we want to share with folks.

Schuyler Lawson 26:50
Yeah, and it's very pertinent too, especially in this time of year for flu season. Absolutely.

Ebony White 26:55
Correct. So, that supplemental funding, as it pertains to flu vaccination has given us the opportunity to partner with Dr. Vasquez in Urban Family Practice, different pharmacies, faith communities, and one of the large business entity that has kind of showed up in the city of Buffalo, is giving us the opportunity to work with their mobile unit to actually get access for flu vaccinations and give education around flu vaccinations. We are at a pivotal time, we've never been in a pandemic. So we have COVID-19. And then we have the flu. So what we're trying to do is educate our community about the importance of making the choice. So I want to give you the education, but it's always your choice. But when you do it, and you make that choice, you're doing it with you in mind, your family in mind and your community in mind. And I think that is a conversation that generally has not happened around flu vaccines. People are asking more questions and questions are good. Why do I have to have it every year? I feel like I see more signage about it. Why? Because it's important, because we're in this different time, this pandemic time. And we want to keep you safe. We already have adopted a lot of safety measures - hand washing, masks. We've been giving out food and nutrition actually, during those mobile unit events. We've been to some of the faith communities all the way in Lackawanna, and a couple of more in the city of Buffalo, distributing flu vaccine, shingles shots. If people are asking questions and trying to get back on track with their medical care. So what we look forward to doing is making sure that, if that is the intersection that we meet in our mobile units, we want to make sure that we give you the education to move forward in maintaining, and the maintenance of your health care going forward. So in the upcoming months, we are in we're actually we're embarking on the peak of flu season, which will start December the 6th. So we are encouraging people - I know this is a really hard time. You're telling people to socially distance, avoid, but nobody wants the flu, not alone. We don't want COVID. COVID has impacted pretty, much touched everybody's home one way or another. You know somebody, it may be you that has been impacted by COVID. So we were trying to get the word out as much as we can, just for our community. We don't want - we know what COVID did to our community. It impacted our black and brown communities at a much higher rate than it did our counterparts. So we want to bring that down. We want to bring that down. We want to change the manner the direction that the data is showing, if we don't. So we want to make sure it's about education, it's about your choice. It's about your family, and it's about your community. So, Stan, you want to jump in?

Stan Martin 30:11
I think you hit the nail on the head. Like you said, we do our listening sessions, having conversations, Ebony has met with the community. They said that they felt as though it's important that the community have this information, that people recognize that they do have a choice. And what we've heard, as Ebony eloquently shared, was that people aren't only concerned about themselves. They were concerned about others. And that message of having love for your family and for others, your community, is something that they thought that they could champion and rally behind.
And just some of my, as I like to say, my one show surveys and talking to pharmacies and providers, that they are seeing more people getting vaccinated. So we're looking to continue to march our campaign on our conference meeting campaign through platforms such as this, radio, TV, as well as in print, and then in the weeks ahead and even into the New Year as well. So stay tuned.

Schuyler Lawson 31:17
All this is very encouraging, and I really do hope that it leads to higher vaccination rates in those marginalized groups.

Stan Martin 31:25
Well, you know, Schuyler, as we mentioned earlier, we really have to address the trauma. You know, when people say that, "I had a reaction towards getting shot." People aren't aware that also there's a nasal spray that's available or, is this someone 65 and older? There is a different vaccination that they receive as opposed to someone younger. And it's one of the things that prevalent and I hate to pick on Ebony - she always remind us of if Mama said it or Grandma said that, their opinion matters. You can't go against Grandma, you can't go against Mama because that shuts down the conversation. How do you have that conversation in a respectful way that really says, okay, I'm not throwing Grandma or your mom under the bus, and I want to recognize that providing information that dispels some of those myths. That's critical in terms of people making that change, and it may not happen right then and there. And I think what we're say saying, different points of intersect is occurring that we're encouraged by. Knowing that and having those trusted - having an Ebony, having a Dr. Vasquez, to meet someone in a barber shop or a salon or a place of worship. Not on their Sunday though, but to meet them in their comfort zone and share information in a nonjudgmental way is important.

Schuyler Lawson 33:15
It appears that a thread that I'm seeing for all of these projects is the importance of meeting people where they are and having sort of a community participatory approach addressing these very unique issues. Would you would you both agree?

Stan Martin 33:31
Absolutely.

Ebony White 33:33
Absolutely.

Stan Martin 33:35
And you know, I know you're very versatile, I believe you're very versed, Schuyler, and a community participant in practices and approaches. And we also utilize collective impact as a part of that. Collect, for those who may not be familiar, having a shared agenda, bidirectional communication, a combination of coordinated strategies, having a backbone organization. CAI and the Task Force, the African American Health Equity Task Force, working collaboratively together and being able to provide resources and utilize science and data in a manner that we aren't weaponizing or victimizing and traumatizing those we're trying to reach. Those are critical elements, moving from implementation to creating a movement. Any movement that's successful, in my opinion, including the Black Panthers, you have to start at the grassroots level, and you have to have the community's trust in rapporting that. And those are just some principles and frameworks that we embed in all of our work across the board here in Buffalo.

Schuyler Lawson 34:50
Thank you both for sharing more information about this very important project. Did you have anything else you wanted to speak to us about, particularly about the vaccination initiative

Stan Martin 35:04
I want to say, get your shot. If you haven't already, get vaccinated, get the shot to protect yourself, your families, your loved ones, and your community.

Schuyler Lawson 35:15
Yes, to all our listeners, please get your shots. It's not just about you. It's also about everyone else as well. Please get vaccinated. So I want to move on to the next question now for both of you. So in your opinions, what are what are the biggest drivers of health disparities, and what would it take to eliminate these drivers? This is a very complex question. There's no simple answer, but I'd love your viewpoints.

Ebony White 35:50
What I would say is, education. Education around, these are the impacts of these chronic diseases, the impacts that they have on our community widespread, and how they are connected to our behavior. So when I think about what is - Stan was talking about previously, they advertise more cigarettes, they advertise more alcohol in our community. What are we messaging? If you're the consumer, we have to understand, if you're the consumer and someone wants to sell something to you, you have to change what your desires are, what you want. So we have to really get into our thoughts, process how we value our sales and what our desires are for our lives that we can change what is happening on the outside, what is being offered to us. If I say I don't want chicken, I don't want a bunch of cigarettes, the person that wants to come in, they have to dig a little bit deeper and find out what is in fact that they're trying to sell me, and what I want. So really, I think that education widespread, spending that that time, building that trust in our community, apologizing for stuff that you may not have done. You may have apologized for some things, but still standing, not running away from the pressure of the complexity of everything. People always have a lot of complaints, but we really strive to be solution focused. I hear you. I heard you acknowledge it. And how can we change this? So really, for me is education and more education. And it's going to take time. It's going to take a little time to change overall everything and finally eliminate it. So we have to change the minds of our community.

Stan Martin 37:52
Thank you, Ebony, I agree with you. And I would add the elimination of poverty. That's lofty. That's my vision though. I think that's the vision of a shared vision of others as well. To eliminate poverty, if we eliminate poverty, then really the essence of when we talk about where you live, where you work, where you play. And even pray and learn, then every child, every adult, every person has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, their fullest ability, whatever that means to that person. In addition to that, I think that we have to address using the same cultural principles. We have to address racism in this country, the racial justice or injustices that have happened. We have to move from addressing that to really a point of being anti-racist. We have to dismantle systemic institutional racism. That really appears in every aspect of the work that we do, and until we do those things, I think that we will continuously revisit those things in one shape, form, fashion or another. And I think that really also we're in a climate of social justice and unrest. And a lot of that is due to not focusing on being equal, but we need to focus on equity. Equity is the denominator or the lens that we should look at promoting health and wellness from. To address it at every level, when you look at those social, ecological, at the philosophical, but at the individual level, the community level, at systems and policy changes and not have policies just exists on paper. What is having to come to reality to actually change to being a social norm? Like I say, it becomes our way of life in a healthy way. Thank you for the question

Schuyler Lawson 40:15
Thank you both for your thoughtful responses. Very much appreciate it. So now we're nearing the end of the podcast. So my last question is, is there anything else you'd like our listeners to know?

Ebony White 40:30
Get your flu vaccination. Again, I'm going to repeat it, do it for yourself, do it for your family and do it for your community, and continue to wear your mask. Practice social distancing. I know you miss all your friends, but please, let's not do that. Let's take care of each other, just for this period of time. And I'm hopeful that we'll get through this, but we want to make sure we're doing everything that we possibly can. Good handwashing, social distancing, wear your mask. If you don't have your flu vaccination, they are available. Stan will provide you with the website to get a flu shot. They're in your local pharmacies. If you have a primary care doctor. If you don't have a primary care doctor, please get one. Go have your flu shot this year and take care of each other.

Stan Martin 41:20
Yes, definitely. I echo Ebony's sentiments. Get a flu shot. If you don't know where to go, you can, if you have access to the Internet, you can go to GetMyFluShot.org, and then you put in your zip code and they'll give you information on where you can go locally, at your supermarket, at your pharmacies, or at different clinics in your area to obtain the vaccination. Thank you, Schuyler, for the opportunity to share this information with you and your audience.

Schuyler Lawson 41:57
You're very welcome. Again, thank you both for coming on onboard and be willing to be interviewed. I hope this reaches a wide array of our listeners. Thanks again to you both for taking the time to be on our podcast. We hope to have you on again to discuss future projects or ongoing projects to see how things are going. And listeners...

Stan Martin 42:25
I’m sorry. GetMyFluShot.org, not dot com. I stand corrected.

Schuyler Lawson 42:34
GetMyFluShot.org. Thank you for the correction. And listeners, if you're interested in learning more about CAI and the great work that they do, visit CAIGlobal.org. Ebony, is there a website that the listeners could visit to learn more about the African-American Health Equity Task Force?

Ebony White 42:54
I would just direct them directly to CAI. Thank you.

Schuyler Lawson 42:57
You're welcome. I'm Schuyler Lawson, and thanks for listening to another episode of Buffalo HealthCast. Take care and be well.

Outro 43:09
This has been another episode of Buffalo HealthCast. Tune in next time to hear more about health equity here in Buffalo, the US, and around the globe.

Buffalo HealthCast

COVID-19 Health Disparities in Buffalo, with Stan Martin & Ebony White

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