Delores Blackwell, PhD, LCSW, was one of three guest speakers at the “Reducing Health Disparities for Children and Families in the Hudson Valley” seminar at Mount Saint Mary College on Friday, June 20.
Local leaders in healthcare examined ways to reduce health disparities for children and families in the Hudson Valley at a seminar hosted at Mount Saint Mary College on Friday, June 20.
The event, part of the college’s ongoing Health Equity Talks series, was a joint venture between the Mount’s Desmond Center for Community Engagement and Wellness and the Catskill Hudson Area Health Education Center.
The seminar featured several sessions, including “The Interconnectedness of Person-Centered Care, the Social Determinants of Health, and the Impact on Day to Day Client Care” by Delores Blackwell, PhD, LCSW.
Blackwell is an adjunct professor at Toro College and Hunter College-Silverman Schools of Social Work, and a speaker who has presented nationally and internationally on various issues such as anger management, cognitive behavioral therapy, and self-care.
She emphasized the critical role of relationships between health care providers and clients: “No matter what approach you’re utilizing, whether it’s a medical approach or a mental health approach, the key thing that is embedded in all of our practice is the relationship,” she explained. “When we talk about person-centered care, we’re talking about treating the whole person, caring for the whole person. And so this starts with that relationship.”
Blackwell noted that the client is the expert of their own needs. With this in mind, the care process should achieve a meaningful life for the client as they define it
She added that healthcare professionals should ask the right questions to determine if their clients’ basic needs are being met. Regardless of one’s skill as a healthcare professional, it’s difficult to address someone’s other needs if basic ones like food and shelter aren’t in place.
“If I don’t have a safe place to lay my head down at night, if I don’t know how I’m going to feed my family or myself, I’m not going to be able to potentially work on those higher-level needs,” explained Blackwell.
Other presentations at the seminar included “Exploring the History and Modern-day Practice of United States Midwifery as a Source of Providing Maternal Healthcare” by Helena Grant, MS, CNM, LM, CICP, FACNM; and “Reducing Health Disparities for Children and Families in the Hudson Valley: Addressing and Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences” by Jennifer Lansiquot, MPH, CLC.
The Desmond Center for Community Engagement and Wellness, located in Guzman Hall at the Mount, is dedicated to providing health, wellness, educational, and professional services to underserved individuals and families in the local area. The center offers a variety of programs monthly