Senate Aging Committee examines COVID-19 and racial health disparities

Jul 22, 2020 - 03:33 PM
senate-hearing-rountable

The Senate Special Committee on Aging yesterday held a hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic and seniors, which focused on racial health disparities.

Former AHA Board Chair Gene Woods, president and CEO of Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C., testified about Atrium’s initiatives to address the needs of minority and underserved communities, including the use of geospatial hotspotting to identify zip codes most impacted by COVID-19 and direct needed resources to those areas. 

Woods also noted the benefits of telehealth in reaching underserved communities and advocated for extending its expanded use beyond the pandemic.

Also testifying at the hearing were Dominic Mack, M.D., director of the National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta; Mercedes Carnethon, vice chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago; and Rodney Jones Sr., CEO of East Liberty Health Center in Pittsburgh.

Related News Articles

Headline
AHA resource: Improving Care for People with Disabilities 
The AHA Dec. 4 released a new resource outlining how hospitals and health systems can take action to improve care for people with disabilities. Solutions were…
Headline
AHA responds to FDA request for information on AI-enabled medical devices
The AHA provided recommendations to the Food and Drug Administration Dec. 1 in response to a request for information on the measurement and evaluation of…
Headline
Permanent recall issued for Baxter ventilation system
The Food and Drug Administration has identified a Class I recall of Baxter Life2000 Ventilation Systems due to a cybersecurity issue discovered through…
Headline
CDC data shows rise in flu, COVID-19 cases across states 
Flu cases are growing or likely growing in 39 states, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from Nov. 11. COVID-19…
Headline
Study finds 5,000 steps per day could slow cognitive decline for individuals with signs of Alzheimer’s
A study published today by Nature found that as many as 5,000 steps per day can slow cognitive decline for individuals with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease…
Headline
Recall issued for mislabeled potassium chloride
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday published an announcement from Otsuka ICU Medical saying that the company issued a voluntary recall for a mislabeled…