Matt Seidel
How did CareSTL respond to the pandemic in North St. Louis? Because of health disparities in the community, we immediately started testing everyone. St. Louis was the first [city] in Missouri to test anyone. I’m proud of being instrumental in that. [Next] we increased mobile testing. We’d take testing to churches, small businesses, nonprofits, senior citizen facilities. We can provide four tests per hour and get results within 24 hours. We’ve tested almost 3,000 in North St. Louis, and we’re working to test everyone.
What effect has COVID had on the health inequities patients face? I’m so afraid of the impact to the African-American community. We’ve had to restructure the clinic to practice social distancing, which will minimize access. We lost ground on chronic diseases, and if we can’t win that fight, we won’t improve health care disparities. I don’t see how we can go back to normal until there’s a vaccine. I’m hopeful to have one by the end of the year, but six to eight months without health care is devastating to a community that’s already in trouble. I think we’ll lose 10 years of hard work on health care outcomes for our community.
Are there any moments of hope? An employee’s mother contracted COVID in a nursing home. We prayed, we cried, because that felt like a death sentence, but his mother came around. That’s hopeful for us, to have an elderly African-American female who did not die. It’s a sign we’re getting it right.
