Residents From the Central Valley to the Inland Empire Gather for Women’s Health Month Discussion on Race and Health Disparities
Advocates, Educators, and Experts to Speak on The Disproportionate Impact Women of Color Face, and What Needs to be Done to Fix it.
Corona, CA — To commemorate Women’s Health Awareness Month, Valley Families Unite, in collaboration with Courage California, hosted a virtual forum to address the severe health challenges experienced by Black mothers and women of color in California, especially the Central Valley and Inland Empire.
Click Here to watch the Forum
The forum examined the root causes of these health disparities – including medical biases, economic insecurity, and other systemic issues – and the opportunities for increasing support and resources for more equitable health outcomes. San Joaquin County, in the Central Valley, and the Inland Empire are the two regions of the state with the lowest physician-to-population ratios. Women in these regions suffer more when it comes to accessing maternal care, mental health resources, cancer prevention and care, and gender affirming care.
The panelists, which included Tamesha Turner with Flourishing Families, Dr. Carleen Stoskopf, Professor of Health Management and Policy at San Diego State University, Kim Warmsley with the National Association of Social Workers - California and Deidre Medley Coutsoumpos, Sankofa Birthworkers Collective, provided insights and discussed ways in which federal funding for maternal health programs, nutrition programs, birthing services and better access to health care can transform the landscape of women’s health in California and across the country. The forum called on local elected officials to support policies that will bridge the health gap and promote justice and economic well-being for all women.
Kim Warmsley, Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers California, shared a personal story, “I want to elevate my own experiences as a black woman utilizing maternal services or hospitals that did not listen to me, similar to many cases of black women who are dying in labor in delivery… I delivered a 12 pound baby and told my doctor I was scared and frantic, and my doctor told me to be a ‘big girl’ and do what I had to do, even though there were all kinds of signs and indications that my labor was not proper and so that was very traumatic for me as an individual and a woman, but luckily I survived.”
Poverty for women of color in regions like the Inland Empire are upwards of 22%. Affordability and costs are a serious barrier to care that can be addressed through increased federal funding for programs like those in the Inflation Reduction Act that put a cap on out-of-pocket drug costs in Medicare and subsidize healthcare, all of which increase health equity for women."
“Pregnancy and motherhood is the most vulnerable time in your life and you really need to be surrounded by people you can trust, unfortunately often times we don’t trust our providers, some of that has to do with systemic racism, and historical traumas,” said Tamesha Turner of Flourishing Families. “These disparities are a serious problem for California, a symptom of challenges women of color face and how policy changes could make a big difference. It's time to direct our attention and resources to closing these health outcome gaps.”
For media inquiries or further information, please reach out to Mario Vasquez Zuniga at 661-483-4927 or mario@valleyfamiliesunite.org.
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Valley Families Unite represents a shared vision of economic prosperity for working families and accountable leadership in California. With the collective strength of Courage California, Inland Empire United, Communities for a New California Action Fund and Lower Costs California, we are eager to hold our elected officials accountable for fighting for the economic well-being of California families.
