Racism is a Public Health Emergency: State Senator Urges CT to be 1st State to Issue Declaration

“Racism is absolutely a public health issue and a threat to health,” said Patricia Baker, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation. “Racism is an underlying cause of the many racial and ethnic health disparities that exist in Connecticut. It affects health in multiple ways. Structural racism has resulted in Black and Hispanic state residents having less access to resources that are critical to good health, ranging from insurance coverage and a relationship with a health care provider to stable housing, enough money to buy food, and stable housing.”

A wealth of data in Connecticut, including a string of statistics developed by the Connecticut Health Foundation in recent years, has led State Sen. Saud Anwar to urge Governor Ned Lamont to declare racism a public health emergency in Connecticut.  Connecticut would be the first state to do so.

Anwar, a pulmonologist for Eastern Connecticut Health Network and former South Windsor Mayor, said “we have all learned that there is a high risk of COVID-19 infection in the African-American and Hispanic communities in our state. A higher mortality rate has been seen in the same communities. This should not come as a big surprise to a lot of the people who have been in the field. Health care professionals have witnessed health disparities, and their resultant outcomes, in our state for many years.”

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk told CT by the Numbers that such a declaration could lead to progress. "Systemic racism permeates every facet of our society and for far too long, we have failed to properly address this fact. Declaring racism as a public health emergency would allow us to thoroughly look at how racial bias and discrimination impacts individuals and systems such as housing, criminal justice, education, and healthcare,” Duff said. “We cannot afford to ignore these realities any longer; racism must be viewed through this comprehensive lens if we are to make any meaningful, genuine progress toward true equality and justice in our society.”

If Gov. Lamont follows through on the recommendation, Connecticut would not be the first jurisdiction to take such action.  Published reports indicate that city councils of Cleveland, Denver and Indianapolis have voted to acknowledge a crisis. Officials in San Bernardino county, California, and Montgomery county, Maryland, have done the same, following Milwaukee County in Wisconsin, which took the action a year ago, in an effort to “expand understanding of how racism affects people.”

This week, the town council in Windsor approved a resolution, just days after Anwar’s letter to the Governor.  Last week, Boston declared racism a public health emergency and announced plans to divert funds meant for police overtime toward public health programs.  In Cleveland, officials introduced the landmark resolution recognizing racism as a health emergency in early March, before the coronavirus pandemic had hit the city, and months before the demonstrators against police brutality took to the streets nationwide.  The Ohio legislature is also considering a resolution this month to address racism as a public health crisis.

In addition, the American Academy of Family Practitioners issued a similar call last week, in urging the White House and Congress to declare racism a public health emergency.

"The elimination of health disparities will not be achieved without first acknowledging racism's contribution to health and social inequalities," the organization said. "This includes inequitable access to quality health care services.” AAFP indicated that “Decades of research substantiate the role of systemic racism in driving poor public health outcomes.”

Noting that “The health disparities in Connecticut have been well documented,” Anwar, who holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Yale University, cited some of the data:

• Babies born to black mothers in Connecticut are more than four times as likely to die in their first year of life compared with babies born to white mothers.

• Black residents with diabetes are nearly four times as likely as white residents with diabetes to have lower extremities amputations; they are more than twice as likely to die from diabetes.

• Compared to their white peers, black children and teens are five and a half times more likely to go to the Emergency Department because of asthma and Hispanic children and teens are about four and a half times as likely to go to the emergency room for asthma.

• Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as white men.

• Hispanic patients were half as likely to be given pain medications when they went to the emergency room with broken bones.

• In a 2014 study in Connecticut, black and Hispanic residents could not afford food for their families two times more than their white counterparts.

• About one-third of Hispanic residents in the State of Connecticut in a 2016 study did not have a personal physician.

• A nationwide study showed that black women with college degree or higher were 1.6 times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes as white women without high school diplomas.

Baker pointed out that “Research shows that people of color receive less aggressive medical care. There are negative physical and mental health consequences of experiencing racism and discrimination. We cannot ensure that everyone in Connecticut can be as healthy as possible unless we recognize the role of racism in harming health and address it through policies and structures.”  

The Connecticut Health Foundation is an independent, private foundation, with a focus on improving health outcomes for people of color and assuring that all Connecticut residents have access to affordable and high-quality care.

Anwar, in his letter to the Governor, said “It is well recognized that racial bias and discrimination have significant negative physical and mental health consequences.  Incidents of depression, anxiety, hypertension, breast cancer and pre-term birth, as well as low-birth rate babies, are associated just with the presence of racial bias and discrimination.  This is based on the body’s stress response system becoming much more active because of the experiences of the individual and has long-term physical and psychological effects.”

Commenting on Awar’s recommendation, Gov. Lamont said this week “I think I’ve said a number of times. There are two highly infectious germs that are infecting the body. One is COVID and the other is racism in this state. I could not have been clearer on that and we’re going to eradicate both as quickly as we can.”

Anwar specializations in treating lung diseases and critical care medicine, occupational and environmental medicine.  He was elected to the State Senate last year and serves as Deputy President Pro Tempore.   He called on the Governor to “make addressing this as one of the top priorities at all levels within our state.”