February is American Heart Month and there is truly no better way to celebrate than making a difference for those in your community. This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rev. Albert Whitaker who is the Community Impact Director at the American Heart Association, RI. Rev. Whitaker shared with me his commitment to bringing people together and bridging the gap between the community and clinical health settings.We focused our conversation on interventions he has worked on that ensure accessible and quality health care and understanding. His commitment to equity is something I hope everybody working in the healthcare or public health space can emulate as it seems to shine through each project he approaches.
In our conversation, Rev. Whitaker explained the complex barriers that exist within health systems that are not always recognized. Going to the doctor and being told you need to exercise more is not the answer if the individual does not have access to parks or recreation spaces. There are most likely outside barriers that affect somebody's ability to perform healthy behavior. For example, when it comes to exercise, we discussed how places and setting, time, and knowledge about exercise influences one's ability to do it. Understanding the social determinants of health allows us to create proper interventions. This is something Rev. Whitaker truly takes to heart (pun not intended) when it comes to his community outreach work!
Rev. Whitaker shared the projects he has been working on to combat disparity in health care. His work surrounds the distribution of personal blood pressure monitors to individuals in the community that are linked to a clinic so that information can be shared to their medical records. Whitaker shared that the health centers receive federal funding for this project to specifically implement it into under-resourced communities. He explained that these personal BPMs are placed in community-based spaces such as faith-based institutions and public libraries. At faith- based institutions, working members of the congregation are taught how to operate the monitors in hopes they can help the individuals in the community that need them. This helps to break down social determinants of health because it brings the intervention to individuals and can be taught to them by people they know in the language they are most comfortable with. Whitaker also explained how these personal BPMs will also be placed in public libraries where they can be checked out. This is a great way to offer people a resource in a totally accessible way as well as provide them with the tools to understand and take control of their own health.
When we discussed what makes accessing health care so difficult, Whitaker shared the multifaceted complications that make this issue so complex. Difficulty accessing care is not just the lack of transportation-it could be a lack of transportation coupled with a language barrier and a need for child-care. Fixing one issue doesn't eliminate the rest. Whitaker explained that a goal within public health is not just providing people with one resource, but the bandwidth so that people actually can go get the care they need. One way Rev. Whitaker has done this by going out in the community and giving talks to people; providing information in an accessible space. He’s worked with the Rhode Island School of Nutrition who go out into the community and teach cooking classes to teach folks about nutrition and how to get there. On top of this, they are asking pantries to have local food policies to help disperse healthier foods. These two actions coupled tackle multiple barriers when it comes to healthier foods.
Whitaker’s passion about heart health goes beyond community health implementation. He also works at the RI State House on the Commission on Health Advocacy and Equity. His work helps to advise the governor on having an equity focus when it comes to health. He explained to me that their goal is to approach everything with an equity focus-an important sentiment for all people working towards systematic change. ”Making a difference is so vitally important, it can be small or large” Rev. Whitaker shared, “For me, it is working towards eradicating hypertension and the health disparities that are a part of structural racism so that we have a better Rhode Island-a healthier Rhode Island”. To learn more about the American Heart Association, visit the website and get involved. Use your heart this February- both figuratively and literally-and go make a difference!
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