Jenna Bacon, Campus Carrier arts and living editor
The Bonner Scholarship Program hosted an expert panel discussion on healthcare disparities in communities of color on Feb. 17, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the Evans Auditorium. The event, sponsored by the Office of Belonging and Community Engagement, was the second installment in the “Bonner Panel Series: Conversations on Community Impact,” which aims to address vital issues impacting various communities. Students who checked in using the Berry involve app received a CE credit for attending. Bonner scholars junior Diego Rodriguez and sophomore Marlon Castro Bojorquez co-hosted the panel together while freshman Sam Brooks and junior Monserrat Alvarez acted as moderators.
According to Rodriguez, the goal of the panel was to demonstrate how healthcare disparities impact participation in healthcare, public trust in the healthcare system and medical outcomes in communities of color. The four panelist experts were Regina Dowdy, Ashleigh Woods, Brian Collins, and Karen Bennett. After the panelists were introduced, Brooks and Alvarez took turns asking them pre-approved questions. The first question asked about the biggest challenges that communities of color face when seeking quality healthcare. Bennet, who has been a registered nurse for 26 years, worked in home care settings and founded Assist A Nurse, which assisted in training over 1000 healthcare professionals, provided some insight from her perspective as a healthcare professional.
“When you look at history, there is basis for the mistrust,” Bennett said. “If relationships are not established and we’re not sensitive to that community’s needs, you will definitely be unsuccessful. I think that’s foundational, being able to really establish a relationship with the community that you’re providing care for. It can’t be done in one day.”
The next question presented to the panelists asked about what healthcare professionals can do to work towards equity in the medical field. Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing Ashleigh Woods has clinical experience in NICU, occupational health and labor and delivery. Woods, said she once had a pregnant patient that was continuously experiencing pain but each doctor the patient saw dismissed it as normal pregnancy symptoms. Woods stepped in and supported her patient because she recognized that her patient was not being treated fairly.
“If you’re in healthcare, advocate for your patients,” Woods said. “Push for it. Push for it when nobody else will.”
Berry Alumna Regina Dowdy has worked as a nurse, nurse practitioner and midwife since beginning her career journey in 2005. Dowdy co-owns The Midwife Clinic, which serves and treats underinsured and uninsured families in northwest Georgia. Dowdy stressed the importance of healthcare providers communicating and forming relationships with their patients.
“If you can’t build that relationship, you’re not going to be able to do anything with all the knowledge of the drugs and treatments and surgeries and whatever else,” Dowdy said. “It doesn’t matter. I can prescribe a medicine to you all day long, but if you don’t go pick it up because you don’t trust me or you don’t understand a word, I said then what good does it do?”
These events are a great way to educate yourself on some of the things shaping our communities. Panels give students a chance to engage in productive dialogue regarding current events. The next installment in the Bonner Panel series will take place on Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. in the Evans Auditorium. That panel will be addressing “The Wealth Gap in Higher Education.”