心脏病专家因服务资源不足的社区而获奖
Dr. Willie E. Lawrence Jr. is an accomplished cardiologist with extensive expertise in helping underserved communities. 他成功的秘诀之一, he said, is staying true to his roots as a kid who lived in the racially segregated East Side of Cleveland during the 1960s and '70s.
“在我成长的过程中,我没有像我这样的榜样,”他说. "Now when people look up my resume and see I went to Harvard, they expect certain things. 但我喜欢站在一个破除迷思的位置上. That starts when people see a 6-foot-5-inch Black cardiologist walking in the room looking like a middle linebacker."
Lawrence practices comprehensive integrative medicine at the Corewell Health Center for Wellness in Benton Harbor, Michigan, 有大量黑人人口的地区, high levels of mortality, 收入低,受教育程度低. 几十年来,他一直是美国心脏协会的领导人, 弥合临床环境和社区之间的差距.
Lawrence has served on the Kansas City, Midwest Region and National Board of Directors. He also leads the National Hypertension Control Initiative volunteer advisory group, which promotes equitable care and lifesaving interventions to lower blood pressure.
因为他长期致力于解决卫生公平问题, 劳伦斯是路易斯B. Russell Jr. Memorial Award. The AHA presents the award annually for outstanding service to under-resourced communities. Lawrence will be honored May 2 during the AHA's online National Volunteer Awards ceremony, which begins at 6 p.m. ,并开放予公众参观.
The award's namesake, 他是第34位接受心脏移植手术的黑人, 存活了六年多,这在当时是一项世界纪录. Russell was an active AHA volunteer who promoted heart disease prevention in people and communities that needed the care before his death in 1974.
在他心脏病学生涯的早期,劳伦斯被美国心脏协会吸引. He quickly became known as an ambassador for hypertension and stroke control, 也是一个以预防为重点的社区领袖. 他知道其他医学专家也参与了美国心脏协会, but what surprised him over the years was that so many nonmedical volunteers were committed.
He notes that a family connection or personal experience with cardiovascular disease is usually the driving force.
他说:“对我来说,这和其他很多人没有什么不同。. “黑人受到的影响不成比例, 所以如果你是美国黑人, 你知道有人得了中风或心脏病."
For Lawrence, some of those family connections include his son needing open-heart surgery at 5 months old and his mother dying of stroke-related complications.
"As a son, I remember what it was like to walk with my mother in to her appointments," he said. “我看到了医生对她的不尊重. 他们不会问她任何私人问题,也不会看她. 在你关心一个人之前,你必须先关心他们."
这些互动塑造了他对待病人的方式, adding that what goes on in a patient's home is as important as what goes on in a provider's office.
He's determined to meet people where they are and let them know they're important by showing up. 他开玩笑说,当你是一个城市里唯一的黑人心脏病专家, 人们让你做事,你不能拒绝. 还有一次,当美国心脏协会首席执行官南希•布朗给他打电话时,他不会说不.
"Nancy called and asked me to chair the National Hypertension Control Initiative board. 我先是说“是的”,然后又说“那是什么??'"
He quickly got up to speed and helped the NHCI effort make significant strides in reducing hypertension, 这种疾病影响了近一半的美国成年人. 参与的保健中心达到了12.血压控制率提高了3%,而只有9%.3% in all Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded health centers.
"Willie truly walks the walk when it comes to caring for his patients and the community,美国心脏协会首席执行官南希·布朗说. "He builds enduring relationships and is a role model for the next generation of cardiologists. His fervent dedication to improving health inspires people to make lifesaving changes."
Lawrence also served as an inaugural member of the Target: BP (Blood Pressure) Advisory Group. Over the past three years, 121 of the 350 NHCI health centers participated in the Target: BP annual award program and 25% of the clinics achieved Gold/Gold+ status in 2023, earned by practices that had 70 percent or more of their adult patient population's high blood pressure controlled.
他将部分成功归功于外联, community collaboration and training health care workers on accurate measurements and best practices to achieve blood pressure control.
"In many cases we get patients to the point where they are doing better than they were prior to getting their diagnosis," he said. "Heart disease isn't a disease where all patients continue to be dependent on their provider. 最终,这就是成为心脏病专家如此值得的原因. It's also what gives me passion to continue to help patients restore and improve their health."