In 2021 during the height of the pandemic, Dr. Sandra Lindsay was exasperated — but not surprised — to find that Black communities in Alabama had yet to receive a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. A Bloomberg article had pointed out that affluent white neighborhoods in the area had had access to the vaccine for two months, but no doses had reached the nearby Black communities even though residents were dying from the disease at much higher rates than their white counterparts. To Dr. Lindsay, VP for Public Health Advocacy at Northwell Health, this was just another example of an ongoing problem: Access barriers preventing equity in health care.
“There was not enough published during the pandemic about lack of access,” Dr. Lindsay recalls, who worked as a registered nurse for over 20 years before transitioning to public health advocacy. “The lack of resources really hurt people of color.”
The story from Alabama held particular resonance for Dr. Lindsay. As the first American to be vaccinated against
COVID-19 outside clinical trials, Dr. Lindsay knows the importance of vaccine access all too well. Before the vaccine was available, she had witnessed the havoc COVID wreaked on New York while working as the director of nursing for the division of critical care at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Lindsay wasn’t aware that she was going to be the first American vaccinated—she just knew she needed to get vaccinated to remain helpful to her patients and staff. After she received the shot, she learned that she had made history, it was the first shot administered in the United States. When she tried to return to work, she was told she’d have to attend press conferences and several media outlets were requesting to speak with her. What followed changed her life forever.
Health EQuity
The First American to Get the COVID Vaccine Is Now Advocating for Equity in Health Care
As the first American to be vaccinated against COVID-19 outside clinical trials, Dr. Lindsay knows the importance of vaccine access all too well.
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Today, Dr. Lindsay carries the kind of fame that this Jamaican who immigrated to the U.S. at age 18 never anticipated. People recognize her on the street, in the airports, bodegas, and at conferences. She’s been told countless times how seeing her receive the vaccine convinced her friends, family, and others to get the shot. She speaks about health equity around the country and, in July 2022, President Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for her tireless advocacy for health equity and her courage in being the first to receive the vaccine. She is the first Jamaican-born Jamaican American to receive the medal.
“Being in the public space, I have more power to influence building a pipeline program to steer young adults toward nursing and to Influence public health on a larger scale,” says Dr. Lindsay. She notes that Northwell already holds career fairs at New York-area high schools and that she spent many of her hospital years as a mentor to young nurses and providers. But she acknowledges more needs to be done. And it’s her job to make it happen.
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“Being in the public space, I have more power to influence building a pipeline program to steer young adults toward nursing and to Influence public health on a larger scale”
Training and mentoring more nurses dovetails with Dr. Lindsay’s larger mission of improving health equity in communities traditionally underserved by the health care system. Access, education, and trust are three pillars she used to mentor young women entering the nursing field. Dr. Lindsay believes they can be used to improve health equity as well.
Access can be improved by meeting patients where they are. For example, if a patient has the choice between accessing prenatal care and buying food for her family, it’s obvious which choice she’ll make. Instead, Dr. Lindsay points to the work of Northwell’s Dr. Monique De Four Jones who has pioneered pop-up clinics in underserved communities to deliver maternal care.
Education means educating more nurses but also broadening health education in the community. As health awareness increases, people take a more active role in their own health care.
“In order to better deliver care, we as providers need to understand our communities,” says Dr. Lindsay, “who our influencers are, our leaders, both elected and unofficial, from the barbershops to the churches, to other nontraditional spaces, and create more ambassadors of health.”
But to educate the community, health care providers need to foster trust. Dr. Lindsay explains, “We need to get out and do health assessments, have people who are from the communities they serve start building relationships. Nothing gets done unless someone trusts you. We need to do health before we do health care.”
The last few years have been a whirlwind, but looking back now, Dr. Lindsay is grateful for the opportunity to help inspire change.
“This is God’s plan. I’m just now coming into my purpose.”
Learn more about how Northwell is changing health equity. Visit Northwell Health's Center for Equity of Care.
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Today, Dr. Lindsay carries the kind of fame that this Jamaican who immigrated to the U.S. at age 18 never anticipated. People recognize her on the street, in the airports, bodegas, and at conferences. She’s been told countless times how seeing her receive the vaccine convinced her friends, family, and others to get the shot. She speaks about health equity around the country and, in July 2022, President Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for her tireless advocacy for health equity and her courage in being the first to receive the vaccine. She is the first Jamaican-born Jamaican American to receive the medal.
Credit: Alex Wong / Staff / Getty Images
“Being in the public space, I have more power to influence building a pipeline program to steer young adults toward nursing and to Influence public health on a larger scale,” says Dr. Lindsay. She notes that Northwell already holds career fairs at New York-area high schools and that she spent many of her hospital years as a mentor to young nurses and providers. But she acknowledges more needs to be done. And it’s her job to make it happen.