You wake up this morning, I assume you were earlier and you read this grotesque story out of Brigham and women where security is cold on black patients at the hospital twice as frequently as white patients. What's your reaction one and two? Is there a role for the mayor of Boston to play in addressing this kind of atrocity?
It's very real. And it is the reason why in a city, that is the mecca of healthcare and life sciences, and really the the envy of of cities around the world with the health institutions that we have here, that there are still such gaps in outcomes for our residents who live just a short T ride away from from any of these institutions. And so we need to ensure that one, there's awareness within each of our systems, but that we're also changing the dynamics within all of our spaces of work and play and gathering. One angle that the Boston that the city of Austin is working on is focused on mental health, particularly there is a sense of stigma. And then, you know, even in my family, I've experienced this with my mom that often when you go and seek services, you can end up feeling even more invisible and unseen if you experience racism, or discrimination or other barriers there, and whether language barriers, cultural barriers, and so we're looking to put a large chunk of our federal recovery funds to develop a behavioral health center that would partner with local institutions, recruit mental health clinicians of color, connect them to job opportunities through these institutions right here in Boston, and reshape the workforce to really be able to meet our residents where they are, because we're empowering providers who come from our communities who reflect and represent and can speak the same languages as our residents.
One quick thing I just because I don't quite know yet your style is Mayor, and obviously every leader has a different style. When you read a report like that either in the globe, or you hear about it yesterday. Do you pick up the phone and call the president or the CEO of Brigham and women and ask questions about how this could have happened? What do you what do you do?
It depends on the article this morning. I did not I was rushing off to the meeting. So it didn't get to. But for me that it's really important to understand directly what's happening on the ground. And so it wouldn't be just the leaders of the institutions, but likely health advocates on the ground or civil rights organizations who have been involved. I try to build time into my schedule so that I can be on the TV in our schools and really see things firsthand. I think that's how we understand the urgency of what we're dealing with.