LANSING, Mich. – LCC’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Health and Human Services Division will kick off a two-part series on Recognizing and Addressing Racial Disparities in Health Care 1-3 p.m. Thursday, March 18.

LCC Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Tonya Bailey launched this conversation series in Sept. 2020 using a dialogue style format that brings participants together in conversation, while conducting self-reflections, active listening, and group learning to discuss difficult topics.

“These campus-wide courageous conversations bring diverse members of our community together for honest dialogue about race,” said Bailey.

The next series is a two-part discussion on the racial disparities in health care. The COVID-19 pandemic reintroduced long-standing systemic health and social inequities that are common to many people of color.

Dr. Bailey will discuss disparities experienced by marginalized populations in healthcare, and the healthcare industry in Michigan with her guests, Chelena Bell, Workforce and Health Professions Training Manager at Michigan Primary Care Association; Deborah M. Lopez BS, BSN, RN, President of the Capital Area National Association of Hispanic Nurses; Meseret Hailu, RN, MSN, NE-BC, President of the Lansing-area Black Nurses Association; Jason Blanks, Executive Director at Capital Area Health Alliance; Melanie Brim, President & CEO at Michigan Health Council, and Terri Logghe, DNP, RN, Associate Professor of Nursing at Lansing Community College.

This event is FREE and open to the Greater Lansing community. The link to join the event can be found on the LCC Courageous Conversations webpage.

Dr. Bailey is widely respected in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion and was named to the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020.