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Category: Diversity, Inclusion, & Accessibility

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Published on 1 Comment on Student Organization Spotlight: Out for Health

Out for Health (OFH) is a student-led organization here at GW. The current leadership team - Katie Maehl, Aaryan Bhandari, and Emma Wellington - recently took over as co-presidents of the organization. They have a phenomenal team of advisors in Dean Deyton and Dr. Caggiula. I spoke with Katie about the history of OFH, the current state of the organization, and their hopes for the future.

While the name “Out for Health” was coined about seven years ago, there has been an organized LGBTQ+ med student group at GW for much longer. Dean Deyton recalls a GW chapter of the national AMSA LGBT group when he was a med student in 1981. In its current iteration, OFH serves as both an advocacy group, hosting educational events on LGBTQ+ healthcare, and a place to build relationships and a sense of community amongst the LGBTQ+ community at SMHS.

In their advocacy work, OFH has hosted a lecture series on a number of different topics, from facial feminization surgery to health policy. They hope to continue this in the future, specifically mentioning a follow-up to the health policy lecture looking at how the Biden administration has addressed health policy concerns that affect the LGBTQ+ community. Of course, COVID has put a bit of a damper on some of these things - all the lectures they hosted this past year were done via Zoom. Katie mentioned they hope to hold more in-person events in the Fall, though that’s still a bit up in the air.

COVID also impacted the community-building OFH strives for. It’s hard enough to start medical school in the middle of a pandemic, but to also transition to a leadership role in a student organization without those in-person connections you would usually build during your first year is even more difficult. Recently OHF has been exploring safely transitioning to in-person events so they can start creating more of those connections. They had a picnic with the residents and some attendings to hopefully build a broader community across the health sciences at GW, and are hoping to hold similar events once school is back in session. One of their big goals for the future is to build a presence at Pride that includes not just OFH but the whole LGBTQ+ community in the health sciences at GW. There are even ideas to connect with LGBTQ+ med students at other schools in the DC area.

I asked Katie what the GW community could do to best support OFH as they reorient themselves under the new leadership team and with the return to campus. Katie wasn’t entirely sure what needed support might look like, since there’s still so much up in the air at the moment. That being said, “listening, being present, and showing up for events” are all small steps we can take to let OFH know we are here for them. Personally, I also think we need to make sure we are connecting with and supporting not only OFH and their leadership team but all of the Class of 2024. While they’ve been a part of our GW community for a year, it’s been a vastly different experience compared to the typical first year experience. Those of us who have been established at GW for a while are in a position to bridge that gap and help make them feel a part of our community.

Out for Health has a lot of ideas and plans for the future. I cannot wait to see what Katie, Aaryan, and Emma come up with. If you would like to reach out to OFH, send them an email at gwofh@gwu.edu. They’re always looking to connect with people, and if you have suggestions for events those are always welcome!

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Doctor Rachel L. Levine is a physician and public health official who became the first openly transgender woman to be confirmed for federal office by the United States Senate in 2021. She currently serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she oversees the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, an office in charge of the nation's public health policy. Dr. Levine plays a key role in the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she also hopes to tackle other major public health issues such as the current opioid crisis and the difficulties LGBTQ+ individuals face when searching for and receiving quality health care.

Born on October 28, 1957 in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Dr. Levine graduated from Harvard College in 1979 and received her M.D. from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1983. She completed her medical training in pediatrics at Mount Sinai Medical Center and she continued to practice medicine there until 1993. During her time with Mount Sinai, Dr. Levine focused on the connection between physical and mental health in children and young adults.

In 1993, she moved to Pennsylvania and served as a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine. She also founded Penn State Hershey Medical Center's Adolescent Medicine Division and Eating Disorder clinic and she served as the Chief of the Division for several years. She was nominated as Pennsylvania's Physician General in 2015 by Governor Tom Wolf. Her nomination was unanimously confirmed by the state's Senate. She served as the Physician General until 2018 when she was named the state's Secretary of Health. Dr. Levine tackled many public health crises during her tenure as Secretary of Health. One of her biggest initiatives focused on the high number of opioid overdoses. Under her leadership, she authorized law enforcement agents to carry the anti-overdose drug Naloxone that could be administered on the scene. This initiative also allowed Pennsylvanians to purchase Naloxone from a pharmacy without a prescription from a doctor.

Dr. Levine uses her expertise and voice to speak on health inequality issues that impact marginalized communities, such as the LGBTQ+ community. In an interview with ABC News Prime, Dr. Levine said "I am laser focused on my public health mission....That includes, of course, COVID-19, the increasing number of overdose deaths that we're seeing, health equity and many other programs that we need to work on and achieve in public health....I think it is very important to advocate for equality and health equity for the LGBTQ community." She has given countless talks that address her public health initiatives and ideas and has written articles on her research and experiences in the medical field. In 2017, she was named one of NBC News' #Pride30 for her work in addressing the health disparity the LGTBQ+ community faces and in 2015, she served as the Grand Marshal of the Philadelphia Pride Parade.

In a 2020 interview with Philadelphia magazine, Dr. Levine said "One of my goals, being a state health official--especially being the secretary of health during this very challenging time of a global pandemic--is that people will see me. They'll see me doing my work and doing the very best I can to protect the public health of everyone in Pennsylvania." The article's reporter, Emily Goulet, added "....it's about letting people put a face to something they might not understand, so that they aren't fearful, so that they don't get angry, so that it doesn't lead to hate."

If you're interested in learning more about Dr. Rachel L. Levine, check out the articles listed below or watch this brief ABC News Prime interview.

Want to read some of Dr. Levine's published work? Be sure to explore Himmelfarb Library's catalogue for articles, book chapters and books authored by Dr. Levine!

References:

Burns, Katelyn. “Rachel Levine’s Historic Confirmation to the Biden Administration, Explained.” Vox, 24 Mar. 2021, www.vox.com/identities/22242177/rachel-levine-confirmation-biden-hhs-transgender.

“Dr. Rachel Levine: Trans Youth ‘Need to Be Nurtured,’ Not Limited from Activities.” YouTube, uploaded by ABC News, 1 June 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WYsOe7wxTo.

Goulet, Emily. “Rachel Levine Is Saving Pennsylvania — and Becoming an Accidental Icon in the Process.” Philadelphia Magazine, 3 Oct. 2020, www.phillymag.com/news/2020/07/16/rachel-levine-pennsylvania-health.

O’Hara, Mary Emily. “#Pride30: Dr. Rachel Levine Is One of US's Highest-Ranking Trans Officials.” NBC News, 26 June 2017, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out-pride30/pride30-dr-rachel-levine-pennsylvania-s-transgender-physician-general-n760901.

“Rachel L. Levine, M.D.” HHS.Gov, www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/rachel-levine.html. Accessed 11 June 2021.

Wamsley, Laurel. “Rachel Levine Makes History as 1st Openly Trans Federal Official Confirmed By Senate.” NPR, 24 Mar. 2021, www.npr.org/2021/03/24/980788146/senate-confirms-rachel-levine-a-transgender-woman-as-assistant-health-secretary.

Zezima, Katie. “Meet Rachel Levine, One of the Very Few Transgender Public Officials in America.” The Washington Post, 1 June 2016, web.archive.org/web/20200329053607/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-rachel-levine-one-of-the-very-few-transgender-public-officials-in-america/2016/06/01/cf6e2332-2415-11e6-8690-f14ca9de2972_story.html.

“LGBT History Month — October 22: Rachel Levine.” Goqnotes.Com, 22 Oct. 2018, goqnotes.com/61545/lgbt-history-month-october-22-rachel-levine.

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It’s June, and around the world many celebrate diversity and the beauty that comes with being who you are. Pride is not only a month that encourages those who struggle with their own identity to shed any doubt or fears, but it is also a time to remind everyone that there are many of us who are supportive and are wholeheartedly on your side. 

This is also something to consider: It gets better. 

Not only do we have a host of organizations who are here to offer help, but Washington D.C. also has clinics that are catered specifically to support those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual community. 

Did you know, the Whitman-Walker Clinic offers not only medical and gender care, but mental, dental, legal, and youth & family support services as well? With multiple locations within the District, Whitman Walker is an excellent option to any who want quality healthcare in an environment where you will not be judged. Whitman Walker will not pry into your personal life, they are well known for letting you make informed decisions for yourself. GW also collaborates with the Whitman-Walker to train future health care providers via the Healing Clinic through which SMHS students have a unique opportunity to learn and conduct one-on-one HIV & STI testing and counseling at WWH clinic sites, mobile testing vehicles, and special events.

At Himmelfarb Library, we have a number of resources that can provide further insight on LGBTQIA healthcare. For example, we have physical and electronic copies of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender healthcare: A clinical guide to preventive, primary, and specialist care and online access to The Fenway guide to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health.

Some additional titles you can find at Himmelfarb include:

Many additional resources can be found through our catalog. If you are unable to find what you are looking for, you can always contact us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu or set up an appointment with a reference librarian to help you sharpen your research skills!  

Wishing you all a joyous and safe Pride filled month from the Himmelfarb library.

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Published on 1 Comment on Dr. David D. Ho: A First Responder in the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Doctor David D. Ho is a Taiwanese-American physician and researcher whose work significantly impacted our understanding of HIV/AIDS and how to treat it. Born in Taiwan in 1952, Dr. Ho immigrated to the United States with his family when he was a child. He grew up in Los Angeles and after graduating from high school, enrolled in the California Institute of Technology. He graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology & Physics and attended Harvard Medical School where he earned his MD in 1978. It was during his internal medicine residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center that Dr. Ho first encountered a patient exhibiting symptoms for a mysterious illness that would later be known as HIV. In a 2011 interview with Asian Scientist magazine, when asked how he became interested in researching HIV & AIDS, Dr. Ho said “I happened to be in the right place at the right time...I encountered a number of patients who presented with opportunistic infections suggesting that their immune system was impaired. It was a mystifying syndrome to doctors and scientists alike.” 

Towards the end of the 1980s and as more individuals were diagnosed with HIV, Dr. Ho became the founding Scientific Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC). The center grew out of the partnership between the Aaron Diamond Foundation, the Department of Health of the City of New York, the Public Health Research Institute and New York University School of Medicine. Dr. Ho and his team of researchers studied HIV replication in vivo and eventually proved the management of HIV replication through the use of antiretroviral therapy. This was a major breakthrough in the fight against HIV/AIDS as patients diagnosed with HIV had a treatment option that allowed them to live their life without being afraid of the virus. Since this breakthrough, Dr. Ho and his lab continues their research and searches for ways to prevent the transmission of HIV, while also researching potential vaccines for HIV. 

Dr. David D. Ho has received many honors and awards in recognition for his contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS. For his discovery of antiretroviral therapy, he was named Time's Person of the Year in 1996. In 2001, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by then President Bill Clinton. He was also inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2006. On December 1, 2020, World AIDS Day, Dr. Ho received the National Leadership Recognition Award from the National AIDS Memorial. Currently, he serves as the Clyde ‘56 and Helen Wu Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and he continues his research while serving as the Director for the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center.

Dr. Ho has published countless articles on his research over the course of his career. If you’re interested in learning more about his work, explore the Himmelfarb catalogue for articles such as ‘Time to Hit HIV, Early and Hard’ or ‘Engineering multi-specific antibodies against HIV-1’ and much more. Check out his conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci during the 2020 Worlds AIDS Day National Conversation and his 2016 interview with TIME magazine.

References:

“Becoming American: The Chinese Experience . David Ho Bio | PBS.” PBS, www.pbs.org/becomingamerican/ap_pjourneys_bio3.html. Accessed 21 May 2021.

“David Ho Receives National Leadership Award from National AIDS Memorial.” Columbia University Irving Medical Center, www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/david-ho-receives-national-leadership-award-national-aids-memorial. Accessed 21 May 2021.

“Faculty - David Ho.” Columbia University Department of Microbiology & Immunology, microbiology.columbia.edu/faculty-david-ho. Accessed 21 May 2021.

Mo, Steven. “AIDS Research Pioneer David Ho Talks To Asian Scientist Magazine.” Asian Scientist Magazine, 11 Sept. 2014, www.asianscientist.com/2011/06/features/aids-research-pioneer-david-ho-da-i.

“Our Legacy.” Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC), www.adarc.cuimc.columbia.edu/about-us/our-legacy. Accessed 20 May 2021.

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In an effort to remain accountable to communities who have been negatively impacted by past and present medical injustices, the staff at Himmelfarb Library is committed to the work of maintaining an anti-discriminatory practice. We will uplift and highlight diverse stories throughout the year, and not shy away from difficult conversations necessary for health sciences education. To help fulfill this mission, today's blog post features a highlight of two student organizations: GW APAMSA and GW SAMSA.

APAMSA and SAMSA logos

The Asian Pacific American Medical Association (APAMSA) is a national organization that advocates for the health of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the US. GW APAMSA is one of the many school-specific chapters organized under the national organization. GW APAMSA is entirely student-led, with a faculty advisor coordinating with the students. I spoke with Isabel Park, the President of GW APAMSA, to get some more information about the GW APAMSA chapter.

National APAMSA has a set of goals and initiatives aimed towards addressing AAPI health disparities and community outreach. GW APAMSA supports these efforts, but the chapter has recently reoriented itself, providing support for the AAPI community at SMHS and standing in solidarity with those experiencing racially motivated attacks. GW APAMSA is working to provide a space for AAPI students and faculty to process and heal, and to create opportunities for allies to stand in solidarity with the AAPI community against anti-Asian hate. Isabel explained “We want people to know that [we’re] hurting too, we want to bring awareness to our allies out there, and create a space for everyone to participate.” Increasing empathy and creating a community of support is vital to the health and wellbeing of the AAPI community at GW.

I asked Isabel how the GW community could best support our GW APAMSA chapter. She explained that there is a gap in knowledge between student-led organizations and the institutional resources that are available to support them, like the Anti-Racism Coalition and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Ensuring student organizations like GW APAMSA are aware of the support that already exists is vital, as being able to collaborate with these institutional organizations opens doors for student-led organizations. On a more individual level, the GW community can amplify the voices of GW APAMSA by promoting and attending their events. The importance of visibly and vocally standing in solidarity with the GW AAPI community cannot be overstated.

If you’d like to get involved, you can email GW APAMSA at gwapamsa@gwu.edu and follow them on Instagram. Additionally, GW APAMSA in partnership with Georgetown APAMSA have the upcoming Dialogue on Model Minority Myths: Stereotypes in Medicine and the Culture of Medicine. The Dialogue is scheduled for May 19th at 5PM EST. Please RSVP for the event - we hope to see you there!

The South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA), founded in 2020, is a national organization with a mission that includes “supporting medical students, promoting research initiatives, and advocating the needs of the South Asian American community.” GW SAMSA is one of fifteen chapters within the national organization. GW SAMSA is student-led, with Dr. Narayan serving as their faculty advisor. I spoke with Sarthak Shah on behalf of the GW SAMSA Executive Board, to learn more about GW SAMSA.

Sarthak explained that GW SAMSA “seeks to foster the South Asian Community within the GW SMHS community as well as provide opportunities for fellow South Asians to connect with one another and create a meaningful and long lasting network.” Much like the National SAMSA, they also work to spread awareness of health issues that disproportionately affect South Asians, like cardiovascular health, and health issues that are often overlooked in South Asian communities, like mental health.

When asked how the GW community could best support our SAMSA chapter, Sarthak asked that we work to amplify the mission of GW SAMSA - that we allow them a platform to highlight the important causes they will be promoting. One of the most pressing issues at the moment is COVID relief for India. Organizations like OxygenForIndia, UNICEF, and Care India are working to provide much-needed support and relief. Supporting these organizations with donations, promoting the work they are doing, and continuing to educate ourselves and others on the ongoing crisis are all ways we can support our GW SAMSA chapter, its mission, and the South Asian community at GW.

If you’d like to get involved, you can reach GW SAMSA at gwsamsa@gmail.com, and be sure to connect with them on Facebook!

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Drs. Emily Smith and Heather Young

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown quite a lot of the problems the health sciences community is facing into sharp relief. Questions of equity, access, and resource allocation have all had their turn. While science communication has been a concern throughout the pandemic, the announcement that everyone 16 and older in the United States is now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine has foregrounded the need to communicate efficiently and effectively with the general public. Drs. Emily Smith and Heather Young with the Milken School of Public Health have been working hard to communicate COVID-19 information to the general public since the beginning of the pandemic. I took this opportunity to speak with them about their experiences, and to ask their advice for how best to work with the public to combat misinformation and encourage those who might be vaccine hesitant to get vaccinated.

In early 2020, as the new SARS-CoV-2 virus spread around the globe, Dr. Smith noticed the questions her friends, family, and even strangers were posing on the internet. Often these were the same questions - what preventative measures can I take, what do I do if I or a family member think we have it, what is my risk, etc. Because the data and information were so new and this was a rapidly evolving situation, those without a health sciences background were encountering information that just wasn’t written for them. Even her fellow scientists were asking where information was coming from, since everything at this stage was coming from preprints and sourcing reliable numbers was vital. There was a clear need for someone to step in and help translate the science in a way anyone could understand, and to aggregate it into one central location that linked back to primary scientific literature. Thus, COVID-101.org was born. Dr. Smith and a few colleagues established the website as a resource they and their fellow science communicators could link to when asked these questions.

The backbone of COVID-101.org is its review process. Not only do scientists and experts write the articles answering questions and referencing primary scientific literature, their colleagues provide peer review before posting the articles. This is where Dr. Young comes in. Early on in the pandemic, Dr. Young gave a lecture to a group of medical students breaking down the basics of epidemiology. Dr. Smith had recently launched COVID-101.org, and sent out an email asking for contributions. Dr. Young adapted her lecture and submitted it, and she continued collaborating with the other volunteers working on COVID-101.org, both writing and reviewing posts. And that’s one of the key things to remember about COVID-101.org, that all of the contributors are volunteers. Everyone from epidemiologists to undergraduates to web developers, all are volunteering their time and talents. Both Drs. Smith and Young think of this as a silver lining - getting to connect with everyone working on the site, old colleagues and new.

As the pandemic progressed, Drs. Smith and Young saw the purpose of COVID-101.org shifting. In the early days, the site served as an aggregator, compiling information and responding to questions. Dr. Young recalls a specific pivotal moment in the evolution of the site: “When President Trump had his bleach injection moment, it was one of those times where five or six of us jumped on the Slack channel and were like ‘we have to get something out there, it has to be out there quick’... we kind of shifted gears from waiting for people to ask us stuff and decided that we needed to go put a message out there that we thought was important.” A little over a month later, COVID-101.org published a post on the social justice movement and why people may decide to protest during the pandemic, describing the “dual pandemic” of racial injustice and COVID-19. These two instances compelled COVID-101.org contributors to take a more active role in creating messaging and putting accurate information where the public could find it.

When they started working on COVID-101.org, neither Dr. Smith nor Dr. Young had extensive experience with science communication. Dr. Smith had some experience in her work with the Gates Foundation, translating scientific data and information for policy makers. Dr. Young, on the other hand, didn’t have any “formal” experience, though she believes teaching requires a similar mindset of distilling complex information in a way students can understand. I asked what they had learned through this process, and what advice they might have for others in the health sciences community who are trying to counter misinformation and, in particular, address vaccine hesitancy.

Both Dr. Smith and Dr. Young described two important things they’ve taken away from their work on COVID-101.org. First, you want to encourage people when they do ask a question. Let them know it’s a good thing that they have this question. Lead with that attitude, and people will be more receptive to your answer. Understand that the misinformation people encounter may have a kernel of truth in it. Acknowledge that, without dismissing their concerns or mocking whatever misinformation it is. As Dr. Young said, you have to “meet people where they are.” Have a conversation with them, rather than lecturing them. Frame the conversation as a way to equip them with information to come to their own decisions rather than convincing them one way or another. Second, you need to make your answer specific to a person’s life. Dr. Smith recalls one of the earliest posts on COVID-101.org: 

One of the first posts we put out before things were shut down was “no you shouldn’t go to a large gathering.” And the questions we got in response were things like “Can I go to this concert?” or “Can I go to this game?” These follow up questions that, to me, should have already been answered by the post. But it wasn’t specific enough, and it wasn’t specific to their life. As a scientist it feels kind of duplicative or I worry that it’s too much the same, but I think that’s one of the valuable ways that we can add here and same for anyone trying to communicate with other people.

Dr. Emily Smith

Dr. Young echoed this, describing the need to “repeat and repackage” for individuals. Everyone is approaching risk assessment and the pandemic with their own lived experiences. If we can make our information relevant to their experiences, it makes it easier for them to incorporate that information into their lives. A recent concept introduced on COVID-101.org, the risk budget, can help people situate the information they are getting within the context of their own life.

Not all of our work combating misinformation or vaccine hesitancy occurs with people on the internet, however. Quite often friends and family members will come to those of us who work in the health sciences with their questions, seeing us as a trusted and valuable source. While the information you’re providing doesn’t change, having that pre-existing relationship with someone can make it easier to encourage them to think critically about the misinformation they’ve encountered. Dr. Young describes telling friends and family “Well, okay, maybe you don’t trust the scientists in the lab, but you trust me, right? And I’m not going to tell you to do something that I legitimately would think is harmful.” Dr. Smith also sees the opportunity to give people the facts “within the context of their life.” You know these people and can tailor your response in a way that makes sense to them.

So how do we best communicate with our friends, family, and even strangers? It’s a difficult line to walk, and one that is becoming increasingly important as access to the COVID-19 vaccine expands. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself with readily available resources. Of course, COVID-101.org is an excellent place to start. If you can’t find an answer to your question, you can always ask them. Himmelfarb Library has also put together a Correcting Misinformation with Patients Research Guide. It has tons of resources, information on communication techniques, and even specifically addresses vaccine hesitancy. The Conversation: Between Us, About Us video series from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Black Coalition Against COVID is a living video library and a phenomenal resource for the black community featuring answers from black scientists, black doctors, and black nurses. While The Conversation's target audience is the black community, the information is clearly communicated and could be useful to others. NIH’s Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) has some great resources focused on engaging communities most at risk. If you’re looking for continuing education (CE) opportunities, LearnToVaccinate.org has a number of CE activities related to patient communication. This is a pivotal moment for the health sciences community, and we as a whole need to be ready to answer questions empathetically and accurately. There has already been a great deal of progress and reason for optimism - over 50% of US adults have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Armed with these resources, we can meet the general public and encourage everyone to get fully vaccinated. And hopefully we can harness the tools and lessons learned from the pandemic and apply those to other areas of science communication. The more informed the public is the more we are all empowered to make the right decisions for our health and the health of our communities.

As always, if you have any questions you can reach us via email at himmelfarb@gwu.edu. If you’re interested in volunteering on the COVID-101.org project, reach out via the Ask Us page on the site.

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Running from March 13th through April 15th, National Deaf History Month is a time to honor the contributions of deaf individuals and the deaf community and learn more about the ongoing advocacy work deaf organizations undertake in order to make the world accessible to deaf and hard of hearing individuals. 

This awareness month runs through March and April because it recognizes three key, historical moments that impacted the deaf community. On March 13, 1988, the ‘Deaf President Now’ or DPN movement successfully campaigned for a deaf president to be installed at Gallaudet University. April 8 marks the anniversary of the founding of Gallaudet University, the only higher education institution for deaf and hard of hearing students. The university is named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, an influential figure whose research and advocacy led to an improved educational system for deaf and hard of hearing children. Finally, April 15th commemorates the founding of the American School for the Deaf, one of the first public schools for deaf children. 

National Deaf History Month is not a federally recognized holiday, yet many organizations and advocacy groups continue to lobby Congress for recognition. There have been improvements in deaf accessibility in and out of a classroom setting, yet many deaf individuals must navigate a world that frequently privileges hearing people. 

There are countless ways hearing people can serve as allies to the deaf and hard of hearing community. First and most importantly, listen to the stories and experiences of deaf people. Deaf people have documented their experiences and should be the experts on how to help their community. Gallaudet University maintains a list of books related to deaf history and this is a great starting point to learn more about deaf history and culture. If you’re interested in learning about the deaf community’s relationship to the medical community, consider this 2020 article from Hour Detroit that profiles Dr. Philip Zazove, the third deaf person licensed to practice medicine within the United State. And pick up Dr. Zazove’s memoir, When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes: Memoirs of a Deaf Doctor, which is available for check out through a Consortium Loan Service request. And watch these two TEDtalks that feature deaf presenters:

You may consider taking a sign language course and learning more about the rules and nuances of this language. Check with your city’s library as many offer ASL courses to the public. Or check out ASL Connect, an online service from Gallaudet University, that offers basic ASL vocabulary videos and free online ASL lessons. Deaf rights advocacy groups are still working to make the world accessible for deaf and hard of hearing individuals and families. Explore the National Association of the Deaf’s website and learn more about ongoing civil rights issues facing deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Search for ways to ally with the deaf community as they fight for equity in education, healthcare and other important areas of their life.

April 15th marks the end of National Deaf History Month, yet we must continue to educate ourselves on the deaf community and the current barriers they face. If you’re interested in exploring the history of the deaf community, check out any of the resources linked in this article! 

References

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In an effort to remain accountable to communities who have been negatively impacted by past and present medical injustices, the staff at Himmelfarb Library is committed to the work of maintaining an anti-discriminatory practice. We will uplift and highlight diverse stories throughout the year and not shy away from difficult conversations necessary for health sciences education. To help fulfill this mission, this week’s blog post will feature a conversation with Dr. Amanda Castel, MD, MPH.

Dr. Amanda Castel is a Professor of Epidemiology at GW. She received her BA in Biology from Brown, her MD from the University of Pennsylvania, and her MPH from Johns Hopkins. I was honored to speak with Dr. Castel about her work at GW, experiences as an infectious disease expert during a global pandemic, and her thoughts on health inequality and stigmatization.

From a young age, Dr. Castel wanted to be a doctor, and in particular a pediatrician. Born in Liberia in West Africa, Dr. Castel’s mother frequently told her about another baby born around the same time. They were both ill, but because Dr. Castel’s family is American they were able to fly her to the US for treatment. As she grew up, her family traveled internationally quite often for her parents’ work. She was able to see how other parts of the world deliver healthcare and was inspired by the idea she could “possibly make a difference and improve people’s lives.” During the course of her education, Dr. Castel took a year off to do a Fulbright Fellowship in Senegal, doing research on prevention and mother/child transmission of HIV. Through this experience, she caught the “public health bug” and decided to join her clinical interests with her public health experience. Speaking to Dr. Castel you can see her understanding of how privileged we are as Americans and her drive to create more equitable healthcare access.

After finishing her degrees, Dr. Castel worked in the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service Program and was assigned to the Maryland Department of Health in their Communicable Disease Program. She describes the experience as being “a foot soldier. You are in the trenches, you’re working with county health departments… you’re doing all kinds of disease investigations.” This gave Dr. Castel the training to marry her clinical experience with her public health experience.

In early 2020, Dr. Castel watched as severely understaffed and under resourced health departments braced for the impending COVID-19 pandemic. On March 14th, 2020, Dr. Castel rolled up her sleeves, walked over to the DC Health Department, and told them “I’m here. What do you need?” In the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Castel recalls scrambling to keep ahead of the curve. The health department worked on case investigations with very limited contact tracing. The numbers were increasing so quickly they just didn’t have the bandwidth and workforce to keep up with them. As scary as those days were, from a scientific perspective they were “fascinating.” Learning how this virus worked, the transmission and symptomatology - it was a firsthand experience not many people get. Dr. Castel describes it as “professionally a very fulfilling experience.”

Alongside her work with the health department, Dr. Castel has been teaching infectious disease epidemiology at the GW School of Public Health. As part of that course, Dr. Castel tries to drive home the point that these diseases are everywhere, if you look at the news you can probably find something about an outbreak every day. January 2020, she and her students began tracking this new respiratory virus. As time went on and the pandemic progressed, these students had the opportunity to learn more about COVID within the course. When GW pivoted to online learning in March, that created a new set of challenges for educators. Dr. Castel commented on the difficulties that arise from not being in the same room as your students, that “the dynamic is different,” but even with these challenges “the students are continuing to learn and grow.” These same students are now working with health departments doing case investigations or other COVID response tasks. Those in the current cohort will be working in public health moving forward. Looking for a silver lining in times when finding them is hard, the preparation Dr. Castel gave these students is having a palpable impact on people’s lives. 

Given her research in HIV/AIDS, Dr. Castel was uniquely situated to understand the ways this pandemic might unfold. In July 2020, Dr. Castel and some of her colleagues from the School of Public Health published an article discussing the synergies between HIV and COVID-19. Despite the major differences between the two viruses, it is astonishing to consider the similarities. Looking back at the beginnings of the HIV epidemic, the process of learning “which populations were most at risk, how to get testing to people, how we prevent infections, contact tracing, these core public health methods” have all been applicable to COVID-19 as well. And what we have learned through these processes are incredibly similar. The populations most disproportionately affected, racial and ethnic minorities, are the same.

Dr. Castel has researched the social ramifications of HIV, the stigmatization and public misconceptions, and the way these intersect to make treating people living with HIV harder. She does see parallels with COVID-19, especially now as vaccines become more available. Seeing the different numbers coming out from Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Castel had a genuine concern that “the general public wouldn’t understand the nuances,” and that might translate into stigmatization based on the type of vaccine being offered. It might raise questions like “If you only offer me the one that’s less effective are you discriminating against me?” And that is part of why it is so important for medical professionals and public health professionals to be able to explain these differences to the public, to understand their fears and concerns and respond to them with the facts in a way they can understand. Dr. Castel felt this especially strongly “as an African American woman working in the field,” with friends and family coming to her with their questions and concerns. Translating that information can be difficult, but it’s a vital part of the work Dr. Castel does, and a crucial part of what she teaches her students.

Despite the difficulties of the past year, Dr. Castel is hopeful. The urgency with which the scientific community responded to the pandemic has the potential to impact other areas of healthcare as well. Perhaps there will be a chance to “take some of that innovation and technology and apply it to HIV research.” But she has tempered that hope with the understanding that “the calculus is different.” COVID-19 is a pandemic that has impacted everyone, put us all at risk. The population most at risk from exposure to HIV is not one that is prioritized in the same way. It’s a stark reminder that even in the United States healthcare is not inherently equitable. Despite the fact that HIV “drastically alters the world [of those infected] in the ways that COVID has altered the rest of ours” there is an unwillingness to apply the same sense of urgency to HIV. Hopefully, as we begin to return to some sense of normalcy, those of us in the health sciences will be empowered to advocate for this kind of research. Those of us in positions of privilege who can speak to the healthcare needs of stigmatized populations need to work on communicating those needs to the general public. We can advocate for change, and call on our government to end the cycle of failing people living with HIV. We need to reevaluate our current healthcare system and public health professionals, like Dr. Castel, are ready to rise to the occasion. Of the lessons we’ve learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most important is that with a sense of urgency, adequate funding, and research, it’s possible to develop long-term solutions to viruses and diseases that still harm marginalized communities.

To learn more about the history of HIV/AIDS health policy in the US, take a look at this article covering 35 years of policy. To learn more about advocating on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS, read this commentary from Topics in Antiviral Medicine. To learn more about Dr. Castel’s work, browse her publications indexed in the Health Sciences Research Commons.

Published on
Clara Bliss Hinds
Clara Bliss Hinds with the Columbian University School of Medicine Class of 1887

Clara Bliss Hinds Finley, MD was a lifelong resident of Washington,DC. Her father, Doctor Willard Bliss, served as an army surgeon in the Civil War and later ran the Armory Square Hospital.1 He is remembered for his bungled treatment of President Garfield’s gunshot wound suffered in an assassination attempt in 1881. Bliss rejected the new field of antiseptic medicine and Garfield died of septic infection after two months of repeated probing for the bullet with unsterilized hands and instruments.2

Clara was the second of Bliss’s four children and was described as an 1870’s era debutante in Washington.3  She married Jerome Hinds and they had a daughter named Bliss who would become a suffragist fundraiser and organizer.4  Clara sued for divorce after Hinds abandoned them. As a single mother in her 30s she pursued admittance to a medical school in order to support herself and her child. “A degree would mean bread and butter to me.” she told a Washington Post reporter in 1934.3

It was a hard road for 19th century women who aspired to be physicians. Few schools would admit them and it took influence and persistence to break down those barriers. Clara received support from another woman physician who helped blaze the trail before her.

“Repeated seeking for admission into D.C. medical schools brought many rebuffs, but she was given inspiration and encouragement by Dr. Mary Parsons, one of the few successful women physicians in the country at that time...”3

Dr. Parsons graduated from medical school at Howard University in 1874. When she graduated the Medical Society of the District of Columbia refused to grant her a medical license. She petitioned Congress to amend the Society’s charter to license women. The bill passed in 1875 but the Society and the AMA continued to refuse her membership for three more years. In 1878, as support for females doctors was growing, medical societies started admitting women members and granting consultation privileges.5 

Clara and four other women were admitted to the Columbian University Medical School, now George Washington University School of Medicine in 1884. Of medical school, she recalled,

“They were grinding years...Competing in what was then regarded as purely man’s work, we were doing what no woman had done in the school before us. We asked no favors, and would receive none”3

Clara was the first of the women to graduate with fifty male colleagues in 1887. She and the other women who completed the program were not given opportunities for internships or residencies. Fortunately, Clara met Dr. Ida Heiberger who graduated from the Women’s Medical College of Philadelphia and did post graduate work in Europe. Together they established the Washington Women’s Clinic in 1891 at 13th and T Streets and this is where Dr. Bliss got her clinical training along with other women physicians. The clinic served indigent women and children. Clinic hours were in the evenings so working women would not have to give up a day’s wages to get care.6 The Clinic later moved to 4704 Georgia Avenue, NW and operated for 60 years. 

Dr. Bliss established a successful private practice and published research on children’s growth patterns. She was a proponent of women’s physical fitness, establishing the first gymnasium for women in DC where they could remove their corsets and other constricting clothing of the day and move freely. Serving as the gym’s medical director helped to supplement her income.7 

Clara married again in 1894 to Henry Jennings Finley, a Washington, DC attorney. That year she and a group of other prominent women founded the Business Women’s Club of Washington DC.4  Her involvement in professional societies and how they aided her education and career is the focus of a paper currently being researched by a group at SMHS including Dr. Kirsten Brown, Professor of Anatomy, Dr. Victoria Shanmugam, Director of the George Washington University Division of Rheumatology, Dr. Nadine Mbuyi, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Sara Hoover, Himmelfarb Library’s Scholarly Communications and Metadata Librarian.

Dr. Bliss died in 1940 and is buried in Rockville Cemetery alongside Henry and her daughter Bliss.8

Today Dr. Bliss is honored as the namesake of the  Clara Bliss Hinds Society for Women in Medicine and Science at GW. The group oversees programs that help to support women faculty including regular meetings and an Annual Women in Leadership Event. On April 14th the Society will host a program on Achieving Gender Equity in Compensation and Career Advancement via Webex from 5-6pm.

To learn more about women pioneers in medicine in the DC area, check out Women Doctors in Gilded Age Washington: Race, Gender, and Professionalization, available in Himmelfarb’s circulating book collection.

References

1. Doctor Willard Bliss, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Willard_Bliss

2. Murder of a President, Who’s Who. American Experience (website), PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-whoswho/

3. Butler M. First Woman M.D. Here Fought Pioneer Battle Dr. Bliss Recalls Those Grinding Years When She Was Trying to Gain Admission to Medical School and, Afterward, to Get Established, The Washington Post, June 6, 1934.  http://edwinwashingtonproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Heiberger_Ida-Bio.pdf

4. Hammond W and LaBrie A. Biographical Sketch of Bliss Finley, 1881-1970. Biographical Database of Militant Woman Suffragists, 1913-1920. Alexandria, VA: Alexander Street Press, 2015. https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1008297916

5. Mary Almera Parsons, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Almera_Parsons

6. Hildebrand JR. Woman’s Clinic Has Blazed Path for Medical School for Women Physicians. The Washington Times Home Edition, August 19,1914. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1914-08-19/ed-2/seq-8/

7. Creese, MRS. Clara Bliss Hinds. Ladies in the Laboratory? American and British Women in Science, 1800-1900: A Survey of their Contributions to Research. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1998. p. 166

8. Dr. Clara Bliss Finley, Find a Grave (website), https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46183535/clara-finley

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Published on 1 Comment on Clara Barton: A Life of Service

Black and white profile portrait of Clara Barton.
[Clara Barton portrait 1]. U.S. National Library of Medicine Digital Collections. http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101409980

In an effort to remain accountable to communities who have been negatively impacted by past and present medical injustices, the staff at Himmelfarb Library is committed to the work of maintaining an anti-discriminatory practice. We will uplift and highlight diverse stories throughout the year, and not shy away from difficult conversations necessary for health sciences education. To help fulfill this mission, today's blog post will cover Clara Barton.

Clara (Clarissa) Harlowe Barton, is perhaps best known as the founder of the American Red Cross. But Barton’s impact stretches far beyond her work with the Red Cross. “Her intense devotion to serving others resulted in enough achievements to fill several ordinary lifetimes” (American Red Cross, n.d.).

Born in 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts, she was the youngest of five children. When she was 11 years old, an older brother was seriously injured in a fall. Barton spent two years nursing him back to health until he was fully recovered. While Barton would never have any formal training as a nurse, this experience proved to be indispensable. She later wrote about the experience stating:

“I learned to take all directions for his medicine from his physician…and to administer them like a genuine nurse. My little hands became schooled to the handling of the great, loathsome, crawling leeches which were at first so many snakes to me, and no fingers could so painlessly dress the angry blisters; and thus it came about, that I was the accepted and acknowledged nurse of a man almost too ill to recover.”

(Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 2021)

Despite this early nursing experience, Barton would not embrace a nursing career until later in life. At the age of seventeen, Barton worked as a teacher in North Oxford, Massachusetts (Clara Barton Birthplace Museum, 2017). Twelve years later, she opened the first free public school in Bordertown, New Jersey (Clara Barton Birthplace Museum, 2017). The school grew from only six students on the first day of classes to more than 200 students by the end of the school year (Clara Barton Birthplace Museum, 2017). When the school opened in the fall of 1853, Barton was shocked to learn that a man had been hired as the school’s principal, earning twice her salary to run the school that she had founded and made successful. Outraged at this news, she resigned her teaching position. “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man’s work for less than a man’s pay” she proclaimed.

The following year, Barton moved to Washington, D.C. to be “one of only a few female clerks at the US Patent Office and the only woman in her office receiving a salary equal to the male clerks” (National Park Service, 2020). As one of the first women employees of the federal government, she faced harassment from her male colleagues who “tried to besmirch her good name and get her fired” (National Park Service, 2020). 

Black and white picture of Clara Barton.
[Clara Barton portrait 2]. U.S. National Library of Medicine Digital Collections. http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101409986

In 1861, Barton moved into a boarding house on 7th St., now the site of the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. The Civil War had just begun, and Barton saw a need for providing supplies and personal assistance to men in uniform. She began collecting supplies and obtained passes from the government to deliver her supplies and services to the front lines and field hospitals. After appearing “at a field hospital at midnight with a wagon-load of supplies,” she became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield” (American Red Cross, n.d.). She nursed, comforted, and cooked for the wounded often at great personal risk to her own safety. On one account, “as she knelt down to give one man a drink, she felt her sleeve quiver. She looked down, noticed a bullet hole in her sleeve, and then discovered that the bullet had killed the man she had been helping” (National Park Service, 2020).

As the war drew to a close, Barton often found herself responding to letters from family members looking for missing soldiers. Again seeing a need, Barton established the Office of Correspondence with Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army. Barton and her assistants received and answered more than 63,000 letters and identified more than 22,000 missing men. Some of these men were still alive. Years later, the “Red Cross established a tracing service, one of the organization’s most valued activities today” (American Red Cross, n.d.). 

In 1869, Barton took a trip to Switzerland where she learned about the International Red Cross. Barton appealed to three sitting US Presidents to sign the Geneva Treaty (American Red Cross, n.d.). In 1882, President Chester Authur signed the treaty, and it was ratified by the Senate (American Red Cross, n.d.). Under Barton’s leadership, the American Red Cross helped victims of forest fires in Michigan, survivors of the Johnstown flood, famine in Russia, hurricane and tidal wave relief in a predominantly African-American community in the Sea Islands of South Carolina just to name a few (American Red Cross, n.d.). “The American Red Cross, with Barton at its head, was largely devoted to disaster relief for the first 20 years of its existence” (American Red Cross, n.d.). 

Picture of Clara Barton's home in Glen Echo, Maryland.
Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2011631520/

A Red Cross supply warehouse in Glen Echo, Maryland served as the first permanent headquarters of the Red Cross, as well as Barton’s home. She lived here for the last 15 years of her life until her death on April 12, 1912. This site is now the Clara Barton National Historic Site. While this site is currently closed due to the pandemic, it is well worth touring if you have the opportunity in the future. 

In 1904, at the age of 82, Barton stepped down from the Red Cross. Today’s American Red Cross still focuses on providing disaster relief, and the mission has been expanded to include: providing lifesaving blood through their blood donation program; providing training and certification courses in lifesaving skills such as first aid, CPR, and AED use; providing international disaster relief services; and helping military families prepare for and cope with the challenges of military service.

During her lifetime, Barton was also a strong supporter of women’s rights. She supported suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Frances D. Gage, and often spoke publicly in favor of equal rights for women (Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 2021). Barton dedicated her life to the service of others as a teacher, a Civil War nurse, and founder of the American Red Cross. By dedicating her life to the care of others, she left a legacy of caregiving and disaster relief in America and abroad.

References:

American Red Cross. (n.d.) Founder Clara Barton. Red Cross. https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/enterprise-assets/about-us/history/history-clara-barton-v5.pdf

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. (2021). Biography. https://www.clarabartonmuseum.org/bio/

[Clara Barton portrait 1]. U.S. National Library of Medicine Digital Collections. http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101409980

[Clara Barton portrait 2]. U.S. National Library of Medicine Digital Collections. http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101409986

Highsmith, C.M., photographer. Clara Barton’s Home, Glen Echo, Maryland. United States Maryland Glen Echo, None. [Between 1980 and 2006] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2011631520/

National Park Service. (June 15, 2020). Clara Barton. https://www.nps.gov/people/clara-barton.htm

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