Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1488824
excited about the opportunity to impact at multiple points of the maternal health- care continuum." Additionally, Excellus BCBS provides bias in maternal health training to health providers in the region through a partner- ship with the March of Dimes. Health equity is personal for Dr. Cuyler. Born in Panama, she immigrated to the United States with her mother when she was a young girl (her father died when she was 2). Dr. Cuyler recounts an experience at a public hospital in New York City after her mother burned herself cooking. For over 16 hours, they sat in "a room full of Black and brown people in agony. I real- ized that for some people, the healthcare system isn't always equitable or kind," Dr. Cuyler recalls. Dr. Cuyler states that many patients have better hea lth outcomes when a provider shares the same attributes of a patient population (race, gender, lan- guage, cultural background), and thus, she co-founded the Black Physicians Network of Greater Rochester, an organization whose mission is to reduce health dis- parities and improve the health of the community by increasing the number of black physicians. "I do believe it helps for you to see a physicia n t hat ca me from t he sa me circumstances," Dr. Cuyler says. "I am passionate about mentoring because I didn't have a mentor. I had to figure everything out the hard way." Dr. Cuyler wants every single person in the United States to have access to equitable health care and, to achieve that, she wants every person to ask themselves what they are doing to advance health equity in their sphere of influence. For those in the healthcare community, it is important to build trust. "Today we are committed to doing better not just for some, but for everyone. We want to help patients feel engaged, educated and empowered, and for health care providers to understand how import- ant they are in advancing health equity," Dr. Cuyler says. "Ever yone has a role to play." n " At the end of the day, we have to make sure we are making progress in maternal health equity because the stakes are so high. — GINA CUYLER, MD Dr. Cuyler with representatives from Empire Justice 1 6