Friday Rx: President Dr. Roy's Perspective and LACDPH COVID-19 Survey Results June 5, 2020 COVID-19, LA Public Health, LACMA, Protest 1294 Docs4LA Leadership In this final edition of Rx, Dr. Sion Roy, president of LACMA wanted to share his perspective: "The George Floyd killing is so brutal that our nation cannot ignore this stark demonstration of injustice and systemic racism. The act of violence by a police officer towards an African American male that was caught on tape in Minneapolis only a week ago was unfortunately not an isolated incident. According to a recent study by researchers from Rutgers, University of Michigan, and Washington University in St. Louis, Black males have a 1/1000 chance of dying at the hands of police, 2.5 times the risk of their white counterparts. The startling demonstrations this past week were to protest systemic racism in our justice system, but as physicians let us also use these events as fuel to address the systemic racism that is present within our healthcare system. The COVID-19 crisis has clearly revealed the racial inequities in access to care that exist in Los Angeles County and our society at large. CDC data shows that the death rates from COVID-19 are substantially higher among Black and Hispanic Americans than other races. As a cardiologist who works in a public health system with mostly patients of color, I'm certain that substandard access to care is a major contributor to this problem. Over the course of the past few months, LACMA has had a robust response to the pandemic. We have worked to support practices in every area of Los Angeles in multiple ways: PPE, financial support and guidance, telehealth access, informational townhalls, and legislative advocacy. Prior to that, through Docs4LA, we have partnered with Skid Row Housing Trust, Santa Monica Community Corporation, and Meals on Wheels to make a difference in the broader community. In the coming weeks, we will announce a collaborative effort with our Patient Care Foundation to help minority and women-owned practices, as well as practices that predominantly serve minority populations, which have faced daunting challenges during the pandemic with inadequate support. LACMA will be proud to step up to this task to help preserve access to care for the most vulnerable, mostly minority, Angelenos. So many of the images on TV these past few days have been difficult to watch including the horrific looting of already struggling Angeleno businesses and violent confrontations between demonstrators and police officers. Nothing was more difficult to watch, however, than the avoidable killing of an unarmed Black man at the hands of a police officer with his colleagues watching. As we move forward as Angeleno physicians, let us fight for healthcare policies to help the most vulnerable among us. Let us also be positive leaders in our communities in the spirit of Docs4LA. That leadership includes seeing, hearing, and acknowledging what is going on in front of us without looking away." Los Angeles County Department of Public Health COVID-19 Provider Testing Survey Results In partnership with LACDPH, we received great survey feedback to help assess your needs, support and communications to further support the physician community. View Survey Results Here Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”