American novelist, author, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist James Baldwin poses at his home in Saint Paul de Vence, southern France, on November 6, 1979.
Most recently, I attended the Socrates Program at the prestigious Aspen Institute, where leaders from all walks of life participated in discussions of American history and American teachings. James Baldwin. I have the honor to preside over this meeting John Stover, Professor of English, American Studies, and African American Studies at Harvard University. He wrote and lectured on the Civil War era, anti-slavery, social protest movements, and photography.
“The questions one asks oneself at least begin to illuminate the world and become the key to one’s understanding of the experiences of others” – James Baldwin
In our discussion, we explore the importance of discussing American history, and we follow the path of James Baldwin, who struggled to belong and found a way to acknowledge and express his desire for equality and belonging. Our intimate conversations, where we shared stories about the importance of creating a just, equitable and hopeful society, became more apparent. Some of the key points about healthcare that I was able to grasp and translate are as follows:
intersectionality
It’s interesting and touching to focus on the importance of social factors and intersectionality, not just structured laws that provide someone with the right solution to create a just society. As we lean towards an all-inclusive economic model and value-based care, the same concept applies to our healthcare leaders, looking at patients in a holistic way, considering their socioeconomics, digital access, lifestyle stressors and more factor. This will help provide them with personalized care and create an inclusive, affordable and easy-to-use system. Going beyond our structured approach and having some mindset shift in our process is critical to this change.
Diversity is a plan, inclusion is a mindset
As organizations eagerly try to implement diversity, equity and inclusion measures — which seem to be the new buzzwords from our conference — it’s clear that diversity is a structured program. It brings people from all walks of life to work together, and inclusion is a person’s experience in a project if the individual can feel a sense of belonging. For a longitudinal healthcare system to sustain itself in its practice, there needs to be a purpose to evoke a sense of belonging, and the importance of experience and empathy must take precedence over structuring requirements. This will help healthcare workers meet patients, especially for disadvantaged communities, and give them a voice to improve our system and society.
health story
James Baldwin is an amazing writer who is able to express his struggle and tenacity through writing to inspire others and, most importantly, to put us in his shoes. His reading of “Notes from a Native Son” does just that. Creating patient-centric health narratives and using this data as a learning curve will better help us reframe our thought processes and reimagine how we approach healthcare from a technology and service perspective.derived from Healthy Humane Portraiture – Using disease narratives centered on patients’ own words, stories shared by patients provide providers with better insights to create more equity and affordability in the system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s perfect expression suggests that people from certain racial and ethnic minorities are at a higher risk of contracting the new coronavirus.
Creating a health narrative can connect many stakeholders from a cross-industry perspective, further allowing our health and wellness ecosystem to evolve in an innovative and empathetic fashion.
In summary
Our history clearly demonstrates our weaknesses and demonstrates our resilience and determination to create a society of equality, value and empathy. These reflections are important tools for creating a better future for healthcare and communities.
Photo: Ralph Gatti/AFP via Getty Images
