On Saturday May 2nd, Persist Brooklyn was joined by South Central Brooklyn United for Progress, and the Campaign for New York Health for a town hall discussion on health justice. We learned about the New York Health Act, a bill currently in the state legislature that would create a universal single-payer health care system for all residents of New York (similar to Medicare for All). The conversation was grounded in the current COVID-19 crisis, with reports from Brooklyn healthcare workers on how prior and systemic challenges in the healthcare system—including racial disparities—have affected the efficiency and efficacy of their response, as well as how that response compares to that of healthcare systems in other countries.
We were joined by Bronx State Senator Gustavo Rivera, chair of the Senate Health Committee, chief co-sponsor of the NYHA and health justice champion!
Full list of speakers: Phara Forrest, Registered Nurse and Candidate for Assembly District 57; Rachel Madley, Student Fellow at Physicians for a National Health Program - NY Metro; Naomi Zewde, PhD, Assistant Professor in Health Economics, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy; Gustavo Rivera, State Senator (SD 33 - Bronx), Chair of Senate Health Committee Moderator: Katie Robbins, Director, Campaign for New York Health.