On January 7, 2021, my Mom, Vanessa Bright, suffered a stroke in the kitchen of her home while my Dad and I were there. She was taken to the hospital by the paramedics, and we weren’t allowed to go with her as it was still during one of the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Dr. Marcus Bright
With no family or friends allowed in she was completely reliant on the personnel in the hospital for anything that she needed. As she regained her bearings, we were able to communicate with her through virtual calls.
She expressed confusion and tremendous frustration with regards to the way that she was being treated. So much that in my last conversation with her on the night of January 16, 2021; she told me that she wanted to write a book on “humanity in healthcare”; adding that “they ought to treat folk humanely”. She passed away that next morning on January 17, 2021.
My Mom’s experience is emblematic of a broader societal issue. A report from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) found that “racial and ethnic minorities receive lower-quality health care than white people – even when insurance status, income, age, and severity of conditions are comparable.” It went on to say that “some people in the United States were more likely to die from cancer, heart disease, and diabetes simply because of their race or ethnicity, not just because they lack access to health care.”
The phrase “humanity in healthcare” that my Mom articulated in our last conversation is the driving force behind an upcoming event that will jumpstart a broader campaign to support the development of more career pathways in healthcare for students from diverse backgrounds.
