COLUMBUS – The COVID-19 pandemic has “pulled back the curtain” on a situation Gov. Mike DeWine says Ohioans should find disturbing: the healthcare disparity between white communities and those of color.
“Knowing that some of our citizens are disproportionately at risk as far as health is concerned, based simply upon their ZIP code is something that should shock all of us,” he said during his televised coronavirus briefing Thursday.
The African American community has been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. African Americans make up 13%-14% of the #Ohio population, yet 26% of those testing positive for the #COVID19 are African American.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) May 21, 2020
African Americans make up 14% of Ohio’s population, but represent 26% of the confirmed COVID-19 cases, 31% of hospitalizations from the disease and 17% of the deaths, DeWine said, citing data compiled by the Minority Health Strike Force, which was formed in April.
“I am deeply concerned about this data,” he said. “I am the Governor of all of Ohio, and when I see something disproportionately affecting some of our citizens, I have a responsibility to do something.”
He announced his administration’s plans for trying to close the healthcare equity gap, such as expanding testing capacity and access to testing for minorities and high-risk populations, using the data to prioritize resources and mounting an education campaign.
Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) says DeWine’s plan is “too little, too late.”
“The governor had the chance to do something important today and he let us down. The recommendations he mentioned represent the easiest path forward, the lowest possible hanging fruit, and such simple steps should have been implemented 6 weeks ago to have any significant impact,” she wrote in a statement.
The state’s plan for addressing the healthcare gap includes expanded access to testing through a partnership with the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers, which represents federally qualified health centers and which operates mobile units in 68 counties.
Black Ohioans represent only 5% of those tested in the state, according to Jasmine Ayres of Policy Matters Ohio, a progressive-leaning group that advocates wider testing and performing health equity assessments as part of policy-making decisions.
The association, in partnership with the Nationwide Foundation, will distribute “community wellness kits” containing protection-related items like face coverings, hand sanitizer, and soap, DeWine said.
DeWine says the state will increase the number of public health workers assigned to notifying residents of possible exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.
A new position will be created within the Department of Health dedicated to studying social determinants of health and opportunity, such as transportation, education, housing and crime.
Interactive maps will be added to the department’s coronavirus web page displaying data on those factors and their impact on opportunity in the state’s 88 counties.
The state is also launching a new communications campaign aimed at Ohio’s minority populations called, “Stay in the Fight.” to educate African Americans and communities of color on COVID-19, health disparities, and social determinants.
The state on Sunday reported 31,911 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 1,969 deaths in Ohio.