POWER TO HEAL tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country practically overnight. Before Medicare, disparities in access to hospital care were dramatic. Less than half the nation's hospitals served black and white patients equally, and in the South, 1/3 of hospitals would not admit African-Americans even for emergencies.Using the carrot of Medicare dollars, the federal government virtually ended the practice of racially segregating patients, doctors, medical staffs, blood supplies and linens. POWER TO HEAL illustrates how Movement leaders and grass-roots volunteers pressed and worked with the federal government to achieve justice and fairness for African-Americans.

 

Dr. Barbara Berney is a distinguished scholar in public health, environmental justice, and the U.S. healthcare system. Dr. Berney is an Emeritus Associate Professor at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Public Health and Health Management. She was inspired to produce Power to Heal by hearing eyewitness accounts from physicians, nurses and government staffers involved in the effort to desegregate hospitals and those who struggled to provide health services in rural areas lacking the most basic medical care. She taught health policy analysis, the US healthcare system, and documentary production for public health practitioners at CUNY. Prior to teaching at CUNY, she did advocacy and community and worker education on environmental and occupational health and HIV/AIDS. She got her MPH in health administration from UCLA. She has a PhD in public policy from Boston University. She earned a BA in political science from Reed College.