Working Towards Equitable Healthcare
NYCASH
New York City Against Segregated Healthcare
Who We Are
We began as a group of medical students fighting against segregated healthcare in New York. We realized that by working together across institutions we could create stronger actions and have a larger impact. Although we started as a group of medical students, we are inclusive of everyone who wants to work with us. We would love to broaden our group to include community members and organizers, other health professions students (nursing, PA, etc), and genuinely anyone who wants to join our movement.
What we do
Our work centers around activism to end segregated healthcare in New York. In the past, our activism has taken the form of teach-ins, phone banks, twitter storms, and petitions. The goal of our actions is to confront the systemic racism ingrained in our healthcare system leading to segregated care. We advocate for the desegregation of healthcare at the hospital level as well as the city and state level. Although our main goal is tackling segregated care at the root, we have also addressed other manifestations of systemic racism in healthcare that are further downstream, such as unjust hospital closures. We welcome all new voices and ideas of how we can get closer to achieving our goal of a desegregated, equitable, and just healthcare system.
What we Believe
We believe in the complete integration of New York healthcare. Ability to pay should not affect anyone’s ability to get the care they need at the highest standard available. Segregation based on insurance status is de facto segregation based on race. We need a full integration of our health system if we are going to begin to address racial disparities in healthcare. Full integration of the healthcare system will be achieved through a patient-led approach because patients are the experts of their own experiences and know what they need best.