Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the myriad ways that structural racism and oppression affect healthcare and health outcomes, including wellbeing and quality of life. These same systemic issues plague the Parkinson’s community and result in care inequities and disparities that disproportionately affect people of color, women, people with limited English proficiency, and more.
In this conversation, Nicte I. Mejia, MD, MPH, FAAN, and Aswita Tan-McGrory, MSPH, will discuss how these systems of racism and oppression affect our community, and how we can take these learnings and create the change needed to ensure all people can live well with Parkinson’s.
To learn more about this topic before the webinar, we encourage you to watch this recent talk on Structural Racism in Medicine from Aspen Ideas: Health.
YOUR SPEAKERS FOR THE WEBINAR
Nicte Mejia, MD, MPH, FAAN
Born in Guatemala and raised in Mexico, Dr. Mejia graduated medical school with honors from the Monterrey Institute of Technology. After conducting clinical research in movement disorders at Baylor College of Medicine, she trained at MGH/BWH/Harvard, completing a Medicine internship, Neurology residency, Movement Disorders fellowship, Master degree of Public Health, postdoctoral fellowships in Neurostatistics & Neuroepidemiology and Mental Health Policy, and the Physician Leadership Development Certificate Program. Dr. Mejia also graduated the Disparities Solutions Center Disparities Leadership Program, YW Boston LeadBoston Executive Leadership Program, Partnership BioDiversity Fellowship Program, and American Academy of Neurology Diversity Leadership Program.
Dr. Mejia works to advance equity through patient care, research, education, and administration. She leads the MGH Neurology Community Health Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, directs the MGH Youth Neurology Education and Research Program, is editor of the Neurology journal specialty site on equity, diversity, and inclusion, and serves as member of the Board of Directors of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Her work has been recognized with the HMS Harold Amos Faculty Diversity, Boston YMCA Achievers, Dominican Medical College New England & Hispanic Health Professionals Association Outstanding Healthcare Professional, MGH Service Excellence Leadership Honorable Mention, MGH Ernesto Gonzalez, HMS Scholars in Medicine Excellence in Student Mentoring, and the AAN AB Baker Teacher Recognition awards.
Aswita Tan-McGrory, MBA, MSPH
In her role as Director at the Disparities Solutions Center, Ms. Tan-McGrory leads the Center’s portfolio of projects focused on addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Ms. Tan-McGrory also travels across the country to speak to organizations about how race, ethnicity, and language impact the quality of care. Ms. Tan-McGrory serves on several executive committees, including the MGH Diversity Committee, and the Mass General Brigham Health Equity and Quality Committee. In addition, Ms. Tan-McGrory sits on the board of the Massachusetts Public Health Association and is Adjunct Faculty at Northeastern University. Ms. Tan-McGrory currently serves on the MA Executive Office of Health and Human Services’ Quality Measurement Alignment Taskforce.