White patients are twice as likely to utilize any mental health service compared to Black patients, but Black patients are twice as likely as Whites to be hospitalized on an inpatient unit. Caring for patients means caring for the whole person, including addressing barriers that lead to difficulty accessing care. The Health Equity Anti-Racism Training (HEAT) series is intended to assist Illinois psychiatrists in building awareness and skills to address and overcome psychosocial challenges and disparities that affect our patients. Participants will learn to incorporate best practices in anti-racism into their daily practice. Please join us as we bring on the HEAT!
Download the Flyer HERE
2022 Sessions:
Jan. 27 | Bias and Cultural/Structural Humility - CLICK HERE FOR RECORDING
Panelists:
Dr. Sheila Caldwell, SIUS Vice President of Antiracism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Chief Diversity Officer
Dr. Danielle Hairston, President, APA Black Caucus, Psychiatry Residency Training Director, Howard University
Dr. Kemia Sarraf, MPH, SIUS Adjunct Assistant Professor, Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Dr. Cheryl D. Wills, DFAPA, Chairperson, APA Presidential Task Force on Structural Racism; Member APA Board of Trustees; Associate, Professor of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University
The Take Aways from this session:
Continue to ask tough questions – not just of others, but of yourself as well. “Why do I believe this? Is it because of evidence-based medicine or because of something you were trained to do or think?
READ! Educate yourself further by reading about this topic. Titles offered as suggestions by our panelists are:
Medical Apartheid
Developing Cultural Humility
My Grandmother’s Hands
The Next 72 Hours – Dr. Hairston’s podcast
If you are a training director or work with residents and come across articles on this topic, print them and put them in their hands.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Feb. 24 | Social Determinants of Health -CLICK HERE FOR RECORDING
Panelists:
Paul Rosenfield, MD -
Director, Psychiatry Education/Training, Mount Sinai Morningside/WestChristopher Smyre, MD -
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of Family and Community Medicine Department, SIUAbdi Tinwalla, MD, MBA, MS, CCHP, DFAPA - President-Elect, Illinois Psychiatric Society
The Take Aways from this session:
Continue to ask tough questions – not just of others, but of yourself as well. How can you help your patients and advocate for them?
Acknowledge the systems issues and support individuals by helping them navigate them
Developing Cultural Humility
Work to change the broken systems in any way you can
______________________________________________________________________________________
March 31 | Social Justice in Psychiatry - CLICK HERE FOR RECORDING
Panelists:
Patrice A. Harris, MD, M.A., 25+ years of private practice in Adult, Child, Adolescent and Forensic PsychiatryCo-Founder and CEO of eMed,
Karla Fiaoni, JD, Defense Attorney, Former Chief of Police and Assistant State Attorney; Currently owns and practices Criminal Defense and Family Law
Jessica Simpson, MD Candidate, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) and Founder of White Coats for Black Lives Chapter at SSOM
The Take Aways from this session:
Continue to ask tough questions – not just of others, but of yourself as well. How can you help your patients and advocate for them?
Find Organizations in your community to partner with – White Coats for Black Lives chapters, public defender’s offices, and bar associations to help educate and work with lawyers who work with the community.
Continue to take the time to educate yourself on your implicit bias. – Reading suggestions: Medical Apartheid and The Death Gap
Wear a Pin (an actual pin on your lapel that shows your support in some social justice cause.) This will create conversations and allow for more open dialogue not only with your patients but your colleagues as well.
____________________________________________________________________________________
April 28 | Community Partnerships and Engagement - CLICK HERE FOR RECORDING
Panelists:
Laura Martinez, Mental Health Equity & Inclusion Director, NAMI IL
Andrew Wade,, Executive Director, NAMI IL
J. Wesley Cook, DO,, Chief Medical Officer, Thresholds
Tim Devitt, Psy.D., LCPC, CADC, Associate Vice President, Thresholds
The Take Aways from this session: how YOU can help!
Continue to ask tough questions – not just of others, but of yourself as well. How can you help your patients and advocate for them?
Outreach and Networking with BIPOC Communities (or Rural, or LGBTQ+, or Seniors…) works the same way as anyone else. Reach out! Ask questions, listen to the answers. Be real, Share your ideas. Follow up with support.
Connections are All Around: Zoom meetings – send a chat asking to connect. Providers, CBOs, Leaders are already in every community - Tap your own networks and associations.
Invite Collaboration: Specifically, ask how you can collaborate with their efforts to increase access and address health disparities. Offer to share your resources and invite participation. Ask for connections – Who else should be at the table?
Increase Access to Naloxone: consider becoming a prescriber of Naloxone and help with community training and distribution and help with increasing access among first responders.
Secure Free Naloxone and Fentanyl Test Kits to give to patients.
Educate yourself on how to Assist patients with no insurance or identification.
Register on the IL Helpline for Opioids: https://helplineil.org/app/home
Volunteer to be a Virtual Prescriber: Potential Pilot to assist patients in accessing Medication Assisted Recovery via telehealth services. Contact: Nicole Gastala, MD Medical Director, Illinois Department of Substance Use Treatment and Recovery. Email - nicole.gastala@illinois.gov
Questions? Contact Kristen Malloy at kmalloy@ilpsych.org or 312-224-2600.
