Advisory board votes to declare racism a public health crisis in Whatcom County
The Whatcom County Public Health Advisory Board voted unanimously at its Thursday morning meeting to send a resolution declaring racism as a public health crisis to the Whatcom County Health Board.
The advisory board also voted unanimously to send a letter to Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu asking him to have Whatcom County and all of its departments join the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). The alliance is a nationwide organization that provides tools, training, peer support and guidance to local government agencies, cities and counties on how to work to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all.
The Whatcom County Public Health Advisory Board is included as part of the county code and is a group of Whatcom County residents who each represent different sectors of the community and are appointed by the county executive.
“One thing to consider when we’re doing these resolutions is there’s a lot of self reflection and personal behavior that’s important to address, but as a public health advisory board, as a county health board, as county government, our job is to lower barriers, to identify barriers to justice and to say ‘What can we do collectively to increase just allocation of resources to recognize the impact of poverty and discrimination that understand historic trends and how to mitigate those?’ Greg Stern, Whatcom County Health Officer, said during the Sept. 3 meeting.
The resolution from the public advisory board now will be sent to the Whatcom County Council acting as the health board. The health board has the ability to make policy countywide. The plan is to present the resolution to the health board at its Oct. 6 meeting, according to Tammy Axlund, an office coordinator with the Whatcom County Health Department.
The advisory board’s decision comes as dozens of other cities and counties across the United States declare racism a public health issue. In Washington state, both King and Pierce counties have declared racism a public health crisis.
A petition to declare racism a public health crisis in Bellingham and Whatcom County was also presented to local elected officials after a march held on Aug. 27, 2020.
Amending the resolution
During the Thursday meeting, the public health advisory board discussed several amendments to the resolution, including finding consultants who will help with adding language to be more inclusive to all groups affected by systemic racism, focusing strictly on race and ethnicity when ensuring diversity within county commissions and including language to emphasize having healthcare that is racially and culturally appropriate.
Steve Bennett, one of the advisory board members, brought up the need to include Indigenous and immigrant populations within the resolution, not just Black populations. He said while some points of action within the resolution are specific to Black peoples’ experiences, he said other points are relevant for other populations and communities of color too.
As there was not an Indigenous member on the advisory board to provide input, the board voted to seek consultation before adding language that specifically addressed Indigenous populations.
Part of the draft resolution directed the county health board to ensure diversity of age, race and gender within county commissions, but the board ultimately voted to take age and gender out of the description ensuring diversity within county commissions and to instead focus on race and ethnicity.
Bennett said it was important to include language within the resolution that addressed providing racially and culturally appropriate healthcare, and to not include it would be a disservice. The board voted unanimously to include that language.
There is historic discrimination and racism embedded in our culture that can be seen across all systems and structures such as government, healthcare, housing and education, Whatcom County Health Department Director Erika Lautenbach said in an interview with The Bellingham Herald..
Lautenbach said when looking at data points such as life expectancy or maternal or infant mortality for people of color, there are no biological differences that would attribute to the kind of disparities that are seen.
Nationally, maternal mortality rates for African American women are three to four times higher than for white women, and infant mortality rates among Black children are two times higher than for white children — higher now than in the 1850s when African Americans were enslaved, she said.
“These research studies that have linked racism to negative health outcomes have controlled for all other factors that could be contributing to health outcomes, like education, access to care, other chronic conditions, and income. And when they’ve controlled for all other factors, the only that remains is race. That’s why we know racism is without a doubt linked to negative health outcomes,” Lautenbach told The Herald.
The resolution
The resolution directs the county health board to advocate for Whatcom County’s government to implement policies and practices that reflect a conscious effort to ensure racial equity, access equity and equal treatment for all people, regardless of race or ethnicity. The resolution declares racism a public health crisis in Whatcom County and condemns racism, brutality, hate speech, bigotry, violence and prejudice.
The resolution also directs the health board to commit to dismantling racism in Whatcom County by:
▪ Implementing annual training on implicit bias, trauma-informed practices and reviews of health disparities for all elected officials, county staff and members of boards, commissions and committees.
▪ Assessing and revising county department policies, procedures and ordinances to ensure racial equity and transparency are core elements.
▪ Ensuring hiring practices provide greater opportunities for people of color to be employed to further diversify the workforce.
▪ Ensuring diversity of race within county commissions.
▪ Supporting community efforts to amplify issues of racism and engage actively and authentically with communities of color where they live.
▪ Building and strengthening alliances with other organizations confronting racism, encouraging other agencies to recognize racism as a crisis, considering county membership to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), and involving community representation and input on matters of historic and continued racial injustice.
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 9:41 AM.
