St. Luke’s Tackles African American Health Disparities

For the past two years, St. Luke’s Hospital has taken part in a citywide effort by all 11 San Francisco hospitals to improve the health of African Americans in our community. The African American Health Disparity Project (AAHDP) was created in response to the results of a community needs assessment conducted as part of the city’s Building a Healthier San Francisco program. The assessment revealed that health indicators for African Americans lag far behind those of other groups in San Francisco.

“African Americans die from preventable illness and injuries at alarming rates,” says Ken Barnes, M.D., an internal medicine specialist at St. Luke’s and a member of the hospital’s African American Health Disparity Committee. “Their mortality and morbidity rates are significantly worse relative to every other major racial and ethnic group in our community.”

Dr. Barnes notes that many factors contribute to the poor health outcomes in the African American population, including:

• lack of access to quality health care,
• institutional racism,
• lack of adequate health-care information to make informed decisions,
• unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, and
• a sense of disempowerment related to difficulty in navigating the health-care system.

The AAHDP has taken a collaborative approach to turn the tide, with citywide planning for a prostate cancer screening and treatment program that provides the services free of charge to low-income African-American men. Individual hospitals also have been developing their own projects.

“Here at St. Luke’s, we have a group that meets on a regular basis,” says Dr. Barnes. “We are discussing ways to provide access to primary care for those African Americans who have no regular physician by referring them to physicians here at St. Luke’s.”

The St. Luke’s committee also is exploring ways to provide better treatment for all patients, but particularly African Americans, in areas such as the Emergency Room and Outpatient Registration. To this end, the hospital has introduced a “quick survey” for Emergency Room patients to get immediate feedback on the quality of care they receive. Surveys are distributed to patients as they enter the ER and are collected when they leave. The survey form states that the St. Luke’s Emergency Department pledges “to treat you with respect and courtesy at all times.”

In addition, St. Luke’s is increasing educational efforts among staff and physicians, including a lecture discussing health disparities among African Americans during a recent “Grand Rounds,” which is a weekly educational conference for physicians and hospital staff.

“In recognition of Black History Month during February, we have an educational display outside the cafeteria to explain health disparities in the African American community and recognize African American leaders in health care,” says Dr. Barnes. “We also are inviting health-related community organizations in the African American community to staff tables during lunch, educating the hospital staff and the public about their programs and services.”

St. Luke’s also will be inaugurating the Arthur Coleman Memorial Dinner on March 10. “Dr. Coleman was an African American physician who practiced in the Bayview-Hunter’s Point area for over 50 years,” Dr. Barnes notes. “He was not only a highly regarded physician who admitted his patients to St. Luke’s, but also a respected leader in the African American community. We will be having this dinner in his honor, inviting members of the hospital and medical staff, as well as people in the community.”

The dinner will feature a documentary film by African American filmmaker Kevin Epps entitled “Straight Outta Hunter’s Point.” The film portrays the conditions under which many people live in that area, including some of the health problems residents face every day. In addition, the first Arthur Coleman Memorial Award will be presented, recognizing a physician who embodies Dr. Coleman’s spirit of service.

For more information about the AAHDP or the St. Luke’s committee, please call Dr. Barnes at (415) 641-6949.

Back to top