Happy New Year - Time to Take Action!

Happy New Year from The Healthcare Revolution! For those of you in Chicago, please check out this great course on the epidemic(s)of injustice. This course was created in response to the ongoing threats against social justice, democracy, and our public's health.

Stay tuned for information on our next general body meeting!

Next General Body Meeting! Wed. November 15th - Georgetown University

The Healthcare Revolution will be holding a general meeting on November 15th from 12-1 PM in GF1 to brainstorm how to get the GUSOM community active in addressing economic injustice, resource exploitation, systemic racism, gender inequality, and biased media to reduce health inequity. Feel free to stop by, join the discussion, and share your ideas!

WHEN: Wed, November 15th, at NOON

WHERE: GF-1 of the Preclinical Sciences Building

AGENDA:  Discussing economic injustice, resource exploitation, systemic racism, gender inequality, and biased media to reduce health inequity, and what YOU can do to fight these systemic issues

MEETING LENGTH: Approximately 50 minutes

QUESTIONS: Contact Mike, Steve, Danny, Jenn, Justin, or Joey, or email INFO@thehealthcarerevolution.org.

 

Pollution Kills 3 Times More than AIDS, TB And Malaria Combined

This is heartbreaking, and it is fully preventable:

"Exposure to polluted air, water and soil caused nine million premature deaths in 2015, according to a report published Thursday in The Lancet.

The causes of death vary — cancer, lung disease, heart disease. The report links them to pollution, drawing upon previous studies that show how pollution is tied to a wider range of diseases than previously thought...

The nine million figure adds up to 16 percent of all deaths worldwide, killing three times more people than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Pollution is responsible for 15 times more deaths than wars and all other forms of violence."

Click here for source story.    Courtesy of npr.org

Candidate for Head of National Drug Control Policy has close ties to pharmaceutical industry

"Marino’s 2016 industry-friendly Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act disarmed the Drug Enforcement Administration in its fight against companies suspected of dispensing excessive amounts of powerful prescription medications, according to a joint report from the Washington Post and '60 Minutes.'"

Click here for source story.        Courtesy of NYDailyNews

Is Gun Violence a Healthcare Issue?

Guns kill 1% of our US population annually.[1][6]  In the year 2013, there were:

  • 73,000 non-fatal firearm injures
  •  11,208 homicides,[5] 
  • 21,175 suicides,[4] 
  • 505 deaths due to accidental or negligent discharge of a firearm, and 281 deaths due to firearms use with "undetermined intent

So, is gun violence a healthcare issue?

In America, there are more guns than citizens. This video (2016) sums it up:

The State of Gun Violence in the United States, Explained in 18 Charts

 

Watch Footage from our Inaugural Event!

Click here to watch footage from the inaugural event.

We would like to extend a special thanks to our brilliant panelists for leading our discussion:

Margaret Flowers, MD and Kevin Zeese, JD

Marget and Kevin are long-time activists and co-founders of HOPE, Healthcare Over Profit. They are highly active in the metropolitan Washington DC area, and they are supporters of a single payer healthcare system.

Russel Mokhiber, JD

Russel Mokhiber is a prolific journalist. He is known most prominently for his work in corporate crime, and he currently serves as editor in chief of the Corporate Crime Reporter.

Michael Irwin, MD

Michael is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University. He is an activist for LGBTQ+ equality in medicine, and he is currently the Director of Andrology with the GW Medical Faculty associates. 

Thank you to The Potter's House for hosting our event. What a sweet venue!

-Joey

Resist the Shock Doctrine!

Here are the steps to exploit the public during crisis:

  1. Exploit the public’s disorientation
  2. Suspend democracy
  3.  Push through radical policies that enrich the 1% at the expense of the poor and middle class.

Naomi Klein's short video details how Trump's agenda mirrors that of right-wing dictators through the 20th century. It's good quick watch.

Short Video - NAOMI KLEIN'S SHOCK DOCTRINE

EFFECT ON HEALTHCARE:  50% of all pregnancies in the United States are supported by Medicare/Medicaid. Dismantling them is an assault on women's health. Furthermore, It would wreak disaster on our already high maternal mortality rate.