Since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a political divide over masking, stay at home orders, and now vaccinations. Many of those who oppose these measures invoke the argument that a certain amount of deaths are a necessary requirement of opening up the economy. This is not dissimilar to the idea of ritual human sacrifice
Ritual human sacrifice is “the societies’ organized killing of people in order to please supernatural beings and—the unspoken real-world part—to fortify the political and economic power of those societies’ elites”
Who are those chosen to be “sacrificed” in this case? Essential workers, those with full time jobs, and unvaccinated people. What can be done? The continuance of messaging about vaccines, PPE. Dispel COVID misinformation when and where we find it. Take special care to ensure that everyone who wants to be vaccinated, is (reduce barriers to vaccine access)
In the media, the word “mild” has often been used to describe the symptoms of the Omicron variant in comparison to the Delta variant. The CDC Director believes that this is misleading: “milder than” delta does not mean that someone who gets Omicron will have “mild illness”. Mild COVID - anything short of going to the hospital. There is no “safe” variant of COVID-19: all variants carry the risk of hospitalization or death. The difference is that with the increase in vaccination rates, Omicron has shown less hospitalizations and deaths overall.
FREE COVID Test Kits Approved in U.S.
By: Lisa Merritt MD & Olympia Fulcher
Great news! The Biden administration is increasing our capacity to contain Omicron. Testing 3-5 days after known exposure or onset of symptoms may optimally identify if you have Covid-19. Remember to quarantine for at least 5 days and wear a mask around others for at least 10 days after onset of symptoms or an exposure. Always wash your hands frequently. Keep trying to prevent being part of the transmission chain that contributes to creating more mutations, and increased risk of Long Haul Covid. #TheMAT stronger together. It is time to order your free tests.
MHI Scholar Section
Young VBE Filmmakers get Scholarships
By: Samantha Gholar Weires
Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY NETWORK
Three winners of the new Visions of the Black Experience “Emerging Filmmaker” competition were honored atNew College of Florida with scholarships for their creative films.
The $1,500 first prize scholarship was awarded to Will Mauricette, a Ringling College student and the director of “Monopoly Money,” a crime thriller about a pair of friends working to earn more money for their families.
The Visions Film series, the organization that launched the contest, is acollaborative effort created between the Sarasota Film Festival, Boxser Diversity Initiative, New College of Florida, the Multicultural Health Institute, and the Manasota Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The organizations, along with the Community Foundation of
See FILMMAKERS, Page 2C.
Mock Study Trial
By: Rhys Shanan, MHI Scholar
Since October of 2021, I have had the pleasure and the privilege to assist the Booker High Law Academy students in preparing for their upcoming Mock Trial competition at the end of this February, 2022. Preparing for Mock Trial is an arduous task, with students being provided a fictional legal issue in October complete with a Defendant, 10-30 pieces of evidence, 6-10 witnesses, a plethora of rules and special instructions unique to the case, and the responsibility to prepare anywhere from 2 or 4 different cases to cover all the bases that might occur during the actual competition. In Mock Trial, each team must have 3 attorneys and 3 witnesses selected to present a case either defending or prosecuting the Defendant identified in the case materials. This is no easy task as these cases are designed so that each witness and piece of evidence provides just enough nuance to allow either side to build an effective legal case. This teaches students the importance of “thinking like a lawyer”, reading each and every witness affidavit for key details and understanding every perspective to such a level that they can argue and present facts against other schools attempting to do the same.
We look forward to the opening of Remembrance on February 20th, the exhibition of Eleanor Merritt's life's work will be on display at the Ringling Museum through August 2022.
The pillars of the 2022 program include the Black Arts and Performance series, the Conversations on Race and Ethnicity public lecture series, the African Diaspora Film Festival, the Black History Month Listen-in, the New Schools of Black Thought Symposium, and a display in the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. However, the schedule below includes other events organized by committee members, campus collaborators, and community partners.
Community Partners
MHI Navigators at the 22nd Annual National CardioSarasota Congress on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
By: Johnny Goodley
In celebration of the 47th Anniversary of the The Cardiovascular Center of Sarasota and the El Shahawy Family Foundation they sponsored the 22/22/22 National Congress’ 22nd Annual National Cardio Sarasota Congress on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, at the Hyatt Regency, in Sarasota, FL, on February 4-5, 2022. We learned about cutting edge technology, medications, assessment and research of heart and kidney issues.
MHI at the 22nd Annual National Cardio Sarasota Congress on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
Our navigators attended the 22nd annual National Cardio Sarasota Congress on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention this past weekend. There were over 80 people in attendance, allowing us to spread the word about our program and encourage referrals from their practices. The navigators broadened their knowledge of cardiovascular disease and its preventable causes by sitting in on presentations. A couple of our interns interviewed the attendees on the importance of managing blood pressure and diabetes and adopting a nutritious diet.
Dr. El Shahawy and the International Society for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention hosted this event.
Johnny Goodley and Dr. Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, FACC, 70th ACC President.
MHIs Care Coordination Program
By Joseph Caretta
Please join us in welcoming the latest addition to our Care Coordination Team, Caroline Ortiz, BSN-RN. Her credentials as a nurse, experience in the care coordination field, and ability to help us reach Spanish-speaking individuals will be invaluable to our efforts. Welcome, Caroline!
From Left to Right: Joey Carretta, Care Coordinator Program Director; MHI Navigators- Angela Miles & Darlene Brown; Lilly, MHI Scholar; MHI Executive Founder, Dr. Lisa Merritt; Johnny Goodley, MHI Scholar; Dr. Yusif Addae, & Dr. Bola Sogade.
MHI's care coordination program works to improve our clients' overall health and socioeconomic disparities by connecting individuals to available resources in their community. We bridge the gap between the community and the health and social service systems through resource linkages, health advocacy, and supplemental 1-on-1 interactions. This program is also designed to help individuals better manage their chronic conditions, monitor their medication usage, and encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors. Our team is composed of trained community and health navigators with extensive experience in community engagement and a vast knowledge of relevant community resources.
Since the program's start in November, we have interacted with 152 people across five counties; 43 of them have requested our services. Our Safekeepers are busy helping to link them to care and resources and better navigate the health delivery system. Some have taken advantage of invitations to our health education events like the monthly healing circles and weekly community Zoom data update calls.
We are pleased to continue to expand our multilingual team with the support of the $50,000 Sarasota Department of Health Equity grant and $30,000 Sarasota Community Foundation Grant.
If you or someone you know needs assistance, you can call or email us at (941) 706-3362 and carecoordination@the-mhi.org.
Current Events
02/09
Smoking Cessation Class 12:00 PM-2:00 PM EST
02/12
Financial Literacy Course Workshop
Provided by: Unique Unity, in partnership with BayFirst Bank & MHI 11:00 AM-12:00 PM EST Hybrid (In-person & via FB Livestream)
MHI seeks to level the healthcare playing field by promoting, educating, and ensuring equal healthcare access and treatment for vulnerable populations who experience disparities in rates of disease due to health inequities. We support programs that educate, identify, and test for diseases such as Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity, Stroke, Cardiovascular Disease, Infant Mortality, HIV/AIDS, and other health issues affecting underrepresented communities across the United States which also help reduce the costs of healthcare. We engage and empower communities to facilitate their self advocacy and improved navigation through the healthcare system.
Sarasota Office: 1781 Dr. Martin Luther King Way Sarasota, Florida 34234 Office: 941-906-9484 Fax: 941-225-8198 www.the-MHI.org
Oneco Office (UMC): Oneco United Methodist Church 2112 53rd Ave. East Bradenton, FL 34203 Phone: 941-906-9484
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