Early this year, Jennifer Esteen noticed a sudden shift in personnel and supply priorities for medical facilities in the communities where she is an advocate for healthcare workers in California’s Bay Area.
The nurse recalled how, for years, calls to address healthcare inequities that left poorer neighborhoods and communities of color understaffed and underfunded mostly fell on deaf ears. But as warnings emerged about the looming coronavirus, by March came orders from state and local leaders on the stockpiling of supplies and acquisition of hospital personnel. Esteen considered it “insulting”.