Tashonna Ward shouldn’t have died waiting to get care in an emergency room.
While America’s healthcare system is terrible for almost everyone, this tragedy reinforces how much worse it is for Black people.
Studies show that Black and Latinx people wait, on average, 25% longer than White patients to receive care. That includes children!
In Ward’s case, her wait was deadly. But there’s more.
It’s well established that doctors tend to believe that Black patients have a higher tolerance for pain.
This often means we’re prescribed less pain medication or aren’t believed when we say we’re hurting, which leads to misdiagnosis.
There’s a long history of medical mistreatment behind these statistics, from the Tuskegee Experiment to the invention of gynecology to even the HeLa cells theft.
Black women especially feel this, as Black women are THREE TIMES as likely to die in childbirth!
That’s why it’s so important to support HBCUs, which train Black doctors, as well as advocate for our own hospitals and clinics and fight for a more equitable healthcare system!