[Lwvcnmtopics] Reminder - LWVCNM Monthly Meeting Tomorrow 8/11 at Noon - ZOOM ONLY - Voter Outreach in Clinical Settings

[Starlyn Brown]

Members,

This a reminder to please join us tomorrow for Voter Outreach in Clinical Settings on Zoom.

Title: Voter Outreach in Clinical Settings: Opportunities and Limitations

Speaker: Dr. Halea Meese

Bio: Dr. Halea Meese is a Family Medicine Resident Physician at the University of New Mexico. Prior to moving to New Mexico, Halea served as the campaign lead for the Med Out the Vote campaign. While in residency, she has worked to pass voting access related policy at the American Medical Association. She also serves as an informal advisor for Vot-ER, a national nonpartisan organization that works to integrate voter education and registration into healthcare settings.

In the last decade there has been growing recognition by the health care community that health disparities and health outcomes are related to social determinants of health. These determinants include socioeconomic status, access to food, housing, health care and health insurance, clean air, clean water, and many other factors.  Review of data from a variety of sources demonstrate disparities in health outcomes and life expectancy related to county or zip code in the US. Significant disparities in the rates of conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, and kidney disease have been reported within cities in the US. In New York City, data published in 2019 showed a 27-year gap in life expectancy across census tracts.

In New Mexico, the life expectancy for males at birth is 75.6 years, which is slightly lower than the US average of 76.3 years. The life expectancy for males by county ranges from 82.6 years in Los Alamos County to 70.8 years in McKinley and Rio Arriba Counties. Rates of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and asthma vary considerably between counties and across demographics.

The COVID-19 pandemic further illuminated these disparities when populations and communities with a larger burden of chronic illness experienced higher rates of hospitalization and death from the infection than those with better underlying health status. For health care systems and providers involved in the care of these people, there has been a growing interest in addressing some of the social determinants that impact the health of people in our communities.

Dr. Halea Meese, a resident physician in the UNM Department of Family and Community Medicine, will speak to us about one approach to addressing these issues through voter outreach and registration.

She was as a co-author in a recent publication in the International Journal of Emergency Medicine entitled: Health care-based voter registration: a new kind of healing. In the article the authors make a connection between voting and health status.
“The USA has a longstanding history of low voter registration and turnout compared to similar nations. Historically, the demographic groups that are disproportionately more likely to not be registered to vote are those most marginalized by our healthcare system. For example, a disproportionately large share of eligible Americans who were not registered in the 2016 presidential election were people of color and low-income citizens. These are the same demographics who tend to be uninsured, underinsured, or suffer from chronic illnesses shaped by socioeconomic disadvantage. Furthermore, COVID-19 has exacerbated and exposed longstanding healthcare inequalities that disproportionately affect communities of color, the same communities that are less likely to be registered to vote. In other words, the voices missing from the electorate are the same voices that could best inform needed changes to our health system. Therefore, regardless of party affiliation or stance on a particular policy, all physicians should agree that to be pro-voter participation is to be pro-democracy and pro-health.”

The National Voter Registration Act passed in 1993 permitted hospitals to conduct nonpartisan voter education and registration activities at the same time that it permitted them at DMVs. 
Dr. Meese will address some of the ways that health care providers and clinics are actively engaged in encouraging voter participation.

In this session she will discuss:
1.      The link between voting and health equity
2.      What health care providers can and can't do in the realm of voter registration 
3.      Health care provider voter outreach efforts in New Mexico
4.      National efforts enabling health care providers to engage their patients on voting

We look forward to having you join us to discuss this important nonpartisan registration effort in our community.

Zoom Invitation

LWVCNM Zoom is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Voter Outreach In Clinical Settings
Time: Aug 11, 2022 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

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Meeting ID: 835 4793 4219
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