Within the US healthcare system, including at UCSF, patients who identify as Black experience stark inequities in healthcare. These inequities arise from internalized, interpersonal, and structural racism, which manifest in conscious and unconscious ways. These inequities create undue challenges for patients in navigating hospitalizations and accessing high-quality care.

 

To address these inequities and promote anti-racism, we (Sujatha Sankaran, Liz Dzeng, Yalda Shahram, Malcolm John, Lorraine Pereira, and Sandra Oreper) created a new Health Advocates program. Our Health Advocate, Celeste Fuchte, served as a vital source of support for patients throughout their hospitalization journey and after discharge. This program ran for one year and is now on pause as we prepare our next iteration of this project.

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Focusing on critical points of hospitalization—including admission, decision-making and communications with the care team, and discharge—Health Advocates help patients navigate the complex healthcare system, amplify their voices and concerns through advocacy and patient activation, and facilitate regular communication with clinical teams.

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One of the goals of the Health Advocates program is not only to change individual behavior but also to change culture at all levels of the healthcare system. As such, Celeste and the Health Advocates team also brought illustrative cases and learning points to educational sessions for clinicians and liaised frequently with UCSF Health leaders to advocate for change at the institutional level.