Michigan coronavirus task force on racial disparities dedicates work to Detroit girl, 5, who died

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Monday an executive order outlining who will serve on the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities and its priorities in addressing the way COVID-19 has disproportionately sickened and killed African Americans in the state. 

Citing statistics that show 40% of deaths from COVID-19 in Michigan have been among African Americans though they represent 13.6% of Michigan’s population, Whitmer said during a news conference Monday: "The deep inequities people in communities of color face, like basic lack of access to health care or transportation or protections in the workplace have made them more susceptible to COVID-19. 

"We've seen heartbreaking stories come out of Detroit. Many who have lost their parents, and children, and friends and neighbors. Michiganders need leaders who are going to do everything they can to lower their risk of catching this virus, no matter their community, their race or socioeconomic status." 

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist will lead the task force, which he said will devote its work to the memory of 5-year-old Skylar Hebert, who died Sunday of complications from a coronavirus infection. She's the youngest person in the state to die from the virus so far in the pandemic. 

"Skylar's family lives in the 48219 ZIP code, which is the second most impacted ZIP code with 559 positive cases of COVID-19 as of yesterday," Gilchrist said. "It's a predominantly black neighborhood. She is the daughter of two first responders in the city of Detroit. After she was admitted to the hospital, she then developed a very rare complication that led to swelling of her brain and a lesion in her frontal lobe.

"She's nearly the same age as my twin son and daughter. ... Her story cuts right to the core of why we must act now, why it's important to to follow the orders and maintain social distancing. Because you can carry the virus and spread it without knowing it. It's also impossible to predict how the virus will interact with a person's body. We have to be careful.

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"My condolences, my prayers go to Skylar's family. And this task force will serve in her memory to ensure that we can limit the exposure for as many people as many families as possible."

The task force will work to make COVID-19 testing more accessible to vulnerable communities and for first responders, like Skylar's parents, he said.

It will also be charged with:

• Increasing transparency in reporting data regarding the racial and ethnic impact of COVID-19. 
• Removing barriers to accessing physical and mental health care.
• Reducing the impact of medical bias in testing and treatment. 
• Mitigating environmental and infrastructure factors contributing to increased exposure during pandemics resulting in mortality. 
• Developing and improving systems for supporting long-term economic recovery and physical and mental health care following a pandemic. 

For people living in poverty, one of its goals will be to help create relationships with doctors who can help them not only through this crisis but afterward, when they need help treating their diabetes, asthma or high blood pressure, Gilchrist said. 

"The data and information is very clear: There is a specific and severe racial disparity that we need to address," said Gilchrist, noting that 15 people in his life have died of the virus and several other family members, colleagues and friends are fighting the illness. 

"When communities have been impacted by racial disparities for generations, this means it is a systemic problem, and a systemic problem requires a systemic solution. We know that more often than not, people of color do not have the financial luxury in the state of Michigan to be able to work from home. They are more reliant on public transportation to get groceries or to get to work. They don't have enough money to buy hundreds of dollars of groceries at a time and have to make repeat trips.

"They may not have access to a primary care physician or health insurance. And their neighborhoods may be environmentally compromised because of issues of environmental justice. These dynamics have led to increase risk of exposure for communities of color across the state to this deadly virus." 

One barrier to coronavirus testing for people living in poverty and homeless populations, is lack of access to a vehicle. 

"When people don't have cars, it's difficult for them to consume a drive-through test, but by enabling people to walk to a test, this will enable greater test accessibility in vulnerable populations," he said.

The task force will not study the problem and issue a report later, he said. Instead, it will "take action in real time. Our mission and purpose is simple: To recommend actions to address the racial disparities and the mortality rate of COVID-19."

More:Family ravaged by coronavirus begged for tests, hospital care, but was repeatedly denied

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The group will work until 90 days after the declared states of emergency and disaster end, or until the governor specifies another date. 

"Despite the progress that has been made for generations in terms of bending our arcs toward justice, we still have to build and we still have to respond to generations of racial disparities and inequity that have impacted communities of color across our state and across the country," Gilchrist said.  

"... This is not something that we can solve overnight, but it's something that we can work on every day to make a difference."

Others who will serve on the task force include:

• Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon or his designee
• Michigan DHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun
• Dr. Brandi Nicole Basket of Clinton Township, chief medical officer for Meridian Health Plan Michigan Market
• Dr. Matthew Boulton of Ann Arbor, senior associate dean for global public health and director of the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training Program at the University of Michigan  
• Renée Branch Canady, Ph.D. of Lansing, chief executive officer of the Michigan Public Health Institute
• Denise Brooks-Williams of Detroit, senior vice president and chief executive officer of the Henry Ford Health System North Market
• Dessa Nicole Cosma of Detroit, executive director of Detroit Disability Power  
• Connie Dang of Jenison, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs and special assistant for Inclusive Community Outreach at Grand Valley State University
• Marijata Daniel-Echols, Ph.D. of Farmington Hills, program officer at W.K. Kellogg Foundation
• Debra Furr-Holden, Ph.D. of Flint, an epidemiologist and associate dean for Public Health Integration at Michigan State University, and the director of the Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions
• Audrey Gregory, Ph.D. of Franklin, chief executive officer of the Detroit Medical Center 
• Whitney Griffin of Detroit, director of marketing and communications for the Downtown Detroit Partnership
• Bridget Hurd of Southfield, senior director of Diversity and Inclusion at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
• Curtis Ivery, Ph.D. of Detroit, chancellor of Wayne County Community College District
• Solomon Kinloch Jr. of Oakland Township, senior pastor at Triumph Church in Detroit
• Jametta Lilly of Detroit, chief executive officer of the Detroit Parent Network 
• Curtis Lipscomb of Detroit, executive director of LGBT Detroit 
• Mona Makki, of Dearborn, director of the ACCESS Community Health and Research Center
• Alycia Meriweather of Detroit, deputy superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District
• Randolph Rasch, Ph.D. of East Lansing, professor and dean of the Michigan State University College of Nursing
• Celeste Sanchez Lloyd of Grand Rapids, community program manager for Strong Beginnings at Spectrum Health and a fellow in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation 
• Jamie Paul Stuck of Scotts, Tribal Council chairman and member of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Tribal Council  
• Maureen Taylor of Detroit, state chair of the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization  
• LaChandra White of Allen Park, director of the UAW Civil and Human Rights Department. 
• Dr. M. Roy Wilson of Detroit, president of Wayne State University.  

Contact Kristen Jordan Shamus: 313-222-5997 or kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.