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Bridging The Gap
A new foundation backed by Maynard Jackson's family and supported by the Association of Black Cardiologists and others, underscores the financial, social and human impact of health disparities in Atlanta and beyond.
by Mickey Goodman
June 1, 2006
T hree years after former Mayor Maynard Jackson's death at age 65, his widow, Valerie, still finds it difficult to talk about her loss. She was reminded of how much he is missed when their 3-year old granddaughter, Brooke Lee, walked by his picture and said sadly, “That was my granddaddy but I didn't know him.” “It broke my heart,” says Jackson. “Too many [African Americans] like Maynard are not living to see their grandchildren grow up.”
The stunning statistics cited in the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report tell the story. While the average life expectancy of white males is 75.1 years for blacks, it's only 68.8 years. Minorities have less access to healthcare, reduced quality of care, less preventative care and less access to clinical trials. They are only half as likely to receive angioplasty and onefourth as likely to have coronary artery bypass surgery.
and Valerie Jackson, founding member of the board, Maynard Jackson Foundation (MJF) to Eliminate Health Disparities
Tragically, minorities are six times more likely to receive crippling treatments like amputation of all or part of a limb, and more than twice as likely to be on the cutting end of bilateral orchiectomy (removal of the testes).
As a partner in The Atlanta Cardiology Group at Saint Joseph's Hospital, director of the cardiology lab for both the hospital and the group, and Mayor Jackson's cardiologist, Dr. Winston H. Gandy, Jr., had experienced first hand the overwhelming disparities in the disease that had taken the former mayor's life. To address the problem head-on, he approached Valerie Jackson with an idea to establish a foundation named The Maynard H. Jackson Foundation to Eliminate Health Disparities (MJF). She was eager to lend not only her support, but also her husband's name. “ Maynard was well-known for his politics of inclusion and equal access to the services and opportunities that affect our daily lives,” Jackson says. “He would want to make sure health care was available to everyone.”
The MJF, a 501(c) 3 non-profit, became a reality this spring with a gala sponsored by the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC). With the support and talents of Boyz II Men, Regina Bell and comedian James Stephens III, the gala spotlighted the ultimate fundraising goal of $100 million.
“We want to raise awareness and focus on the disparities in a global way so we can improve the playing field,” Gandy says. “We plan to be the funding source for progress and for anyone who can address these disparities.”
MJF founding members consist of Gandy, a nationally recognized expert in the field of cardiology, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and vice president and director of the ABC who brings his skills and passions to the MJF; Tom Gordy, CEO of CeloNova, a cutting edge bioscience and nanotechnology firm; Ross Mason, member of the board of directors with the Georgia Department of Community Health; MJF's treasurer, R. Allen Judd; Dr. Jesse McGee, a Memphis cardiologist; Solomon Smallwood (pop star Usher's business manager); and cardiologist Dr. Paul Underwood, of Glendale, Ariz.
The MJF's first mission is to target the conditions that kill the most African Americans - heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Next in the foundation's sights is cancer.
Is Anyone Listening?
One of the biggest issues facing the health care crisis among minorities is the lack of public awareness. Gandy equates it to the AIDS crisis in the ‘90s. “If I told a patient he had AIDS 20 years ago, he would say, ‘I'm dead in a year.' Today he would say, ‘Damn. I can't get rid of it but at least I can control it.'”
That's exactly what MJF hopes to accomplish for heart disease and diabetes, he says. “People can't be cured [of cardiovascular disease] but their conditions can be contained. Maynard Jackson, who battled obesity, diabetes and heart disease, puts a face on the issue. What better way to honor him?”
Another problem is the lack of a centralized organization to funnel requests, Gandy explains. The MJF plans to be that clearinghouse and to partner with major foundations and the business community.
A major thrust to address the issue of disparity is through the education of more black cardiologists. “Traditionally, white medical schools like Duke, Brigham Young and Emory universities have trained more black cardiologists than anyone else,” says Gandy. “Thirty other schools have never trained one.”
When the lack of training for black cardiologists was brought to the attention of Wake Forest University officials, “They righted the wrong,” he says. “They now have two in training.”
Cost is clearly a factor. The training for a cardiologist equates to about $240,000, but since the doctor also works at the hospital, there is just a shortfall of approximately $60,000. “Our methodology is to get the university to put up the bulk and we will provide an additional $60,000. This will allow us to solicit their alumni and the dollars will go directly to the university. The partnership will continue until the disparity is eliminated.”
Other partnerships will depend on the needs and requests. For example, if state-of-the-art computers are needed, the MJF might partner with the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation. If access to low or no-cost prescription drugs continues to be an issue, the MJF will team up with pharmaceutical company foundations. “The partnerships would benefit everyone,” Gandy says.
As chairman of the Georgia Free Clinic Network, Ross Mason brings his passion for nanotechnology to the MJF. “I couldn't be more honored to be a part of it,” he says. He also brings his considerable expertise as a board member of the Georgia Department of Community Health that encompasses Medicaid, and the State Health Benefit Plan, which overseers the state's $17.2 billion healthcare budget. Approximately $10 billion of the budget is earmarked for Community Health Care that serves 90,000 patients a year and saves the state $200 million to $300 million annually in free services.
As chairman of the Healthcare Institute for Nanotechnology and Research Innovation (HINRI), Mason is at the forefront of the effort to attract the best high-tech medical experts to Georgia. “ Through research scholarships, the MJF can accelerate the development of new technologies,” he says. ”It's extremely important to create leaders in the African American community like Dr. Gandy who can educate the next generation.”
Another Frontier
Dr. Michael Smith, vice chairman of surgery, chief of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, and medical director of oncology at the Atlanta Medical Center, brings significant weight to the issue of racial health disparities. He cites research from the Institute of Medicine.
“Atlanta has the highest incident of lung cancer in the nation in black males and the death rate is 50 percent higher than white men with the same disease,” he says. “We also have the shortest life span in the country.” In addition, black males are less likely to be referred to specialists before the cancer has advanced. Compared to white males, black males with Stage I lung cancers are less likely to be offered surgical alternatives and the outcome is far less favorable.
“African Americans have the worst outcome for lung, breast and colorectal cancers,” Smith says. “ We need to adopt a colorblind standard.” Lung cancer is among the worst of the killers. More than 4,000 Georgians die a year from the disease, one every two hours, 160,000 people every year in the United States and 1 million in the world -- more than the next four cancers combined, and 50 percent more than breast cancer. At nonteaching hospitals, only 40 percent of lung cancer patients - black or white -- receive what is considered the best treatment.
Amazing progress in the treatment of childhood cancers have been made since the early ‘80s when terminally ill children were enrolled in clinical trials, Smith explains. “The embarrassment in the African American community is the ability to get people enrolled.” As a result, the testing is largely conducted on white patients and that may skew the data.
Gandy agrees. Recently, trials were conducted on 1,000 black men for a drug manufactured by NitroMed Inc., called BiDil. When added to existing treatment plans for heart failure, the drug showed the potential of saving lives although prior studies -- trials conducted primarily on white men -- showed no significant gains.
The results were stunning. “African Americans benefited to such a great degree that the study was stopped,” says Gandy. “It reduced the death rate by 43 percent compared with the standard heart medications, and has the potential of reducing the mortality rate of black men by 39 to 43 percent and hospitalization by 39 percent.”
In June, the U.S. Federal Food & Drug Administration unanimously approved BiDil for patients with moderate to severe heart failure. It is the first pill ever to target a specific racial group.
“Our mission is to do things for the common good,” says Gandy. “The Maynard Jackson Foundation is just what the doctor ordered for the medical industry.” It offers promise, not only to the minority community, but also to the entire practice of medicine.
Maynard H. Jackson Foundation for the Elimination of Health Disparities
Objectives:
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• Fund clinical research that directly impacts the areas of disparity and ensures the enrollment of underrepresented minorities to yield statistically significant results.
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• Fund and/or support educational programs for practitioners and communities that impact these health disparities.
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• Serve as a repository for other foundations to provide unified broad-based funding in the area of health disparity.
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• Serve as a major funding source for any entity involved in this area of health concern.
