Minority Health Partners

03/16/2026

Mental Health Monday.

With so much happening in the world, I was reminded of the Serenity Prayer my grandmother used to keep posted:

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

That wisdom matters right now.

One of the fastest ways to burn out mentally is to carry everything like it is yours to solve personally.

Some things are in your control:
your habits, your boundaries, your spending, your rest, your words, and your actions.

Some things are not.

That does not mean you stop caring.
It means you learn how to care without collapsing.

How do you decide what to carry and what to let go?

03/13/2026

We cannot tell everything from a short clip on the internet.

What we can say is this:

Patients should have trusted support people with them whenever possible. When people are in pain, scared, or overwhelmed, they often do not catch everything being said. A support person can help listen, document, ask questions, and advocate.

At the same time, laws protecting support people and hospital visitation policies do not mean unlimited access in every situation. In Georgia, designated caregivers generally have access, but hospitals can still suspend or terminate that access under policy, safety, or clinical-care exceptions.

That is where a lot of confusion comes in.

If you are not credentialed to practice in that hospital, you are still a guest in that clinical setting. The licensed clinicians and the hospital are the ones carrying the responsibility when a situation becomes high risk.

Best takeaway:
Know the policy ahead of time.
Ask how to request a patient advocate.
Know how to document concerns and how to file a complaint or appeal afterward if you believe a removal was unfair.

Support matters. Patient rights matter. Clinical liability matters too.

03/12/2026

A lot of people find themselves helping a parent or older loved one understand Medicare.

And for many families, it can feel confusing fast.

Here’s the simple version:

Medicare Part A usually covers hospital care.
Part B usually covers doctor visits, outpatient care, and preventive services.
Part C is Medicare Advantage, a private plan that combines benefits.
Part D covers prescription drugs.

Even with Medicare, there can still be premiums, deductibles, copays, provider networks, and important plan differences.

That confusion is not because people are careless.
It is because the system is often more complicated than it should be.

Understanding the basics can help families ask better questions and make better decisions.

What part of Medicare do you think confuses people the most?

03/10/2026

03/10/2026

A lot of people do not realize this, but one medical formula may have delayed kidney transplants for thousands of Black patients in America.

Doctors often use eGFR, which is a lab estimate of how well your kidneys are working. Older versions of that calculation included a race adjustment for Black patients, and that adjustment could make kidney function appear better than it really was. That could delay referral and time on the kidney transplant waiting list. 

A policy change required transplant programs to review this and restore lost waiting time where appropriate. More than 21,000 Black transplant candidates received waiting-time modifications, with a median gain of 1.7 years. Researchers also found more transplants for Black candidates after the change. 

This is a real example of how healthcare systems, formulas, and policies can shape access to care.

03/09/2026

A lot of people say men don’t talk about their feelings.

But the truth is, many men were never taught the language for what they feel.

Growing up, a lot of boys are given a very small emotional vocabulary:
mad, fine, stressed, tired.

But emotions are more complex than that.

Sometimes what looks like anger is actually frustration, disappointment, fear, shame, or just feeling overwhelmed.

If you don’t have the words to describe what’s happening inside, it becomes much harder to communicate it in a healthy way.

Mental health conversations do not always start with therapy. Sometimes they start with something much simpler: learning the language for what you feel.

What’s an emotion you think men struggle to talk about the most?

03/06/2026

Grateful to attend the Good Soil Movement convening hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes and T.D. Jakes Enterprises.

The room was filled with founders, investors, and leaders working to expand access to capital and opportunity for entrepreneurs of color.

Special thanks to fraternity brother Lincoln Stephens for the invitation and for making sure I could be in the room.

It also made me reflect on the late Jonathan P. Hicks — a respected journalist with The New York Times and the New York Amsterdam News — who believed strongly in connecting people across communities and industries.

Sometimes the most important opportunities come from relationships and people who believe in bringing others into the room.

Health equity, economic opportunity, and community development are more connected than many people realize.

Grateful to represent the mission of Minority Health Partners in spaces like this.

03/06/2026

Grateful to attend the Good Soil Movement convening hosted by Bishop T.D. Jakes and T.D. Jakes Enterprises.

The room was filled with founders, investors, and leaders working to expand access to capital and opportunity for entrepreneurs of color.

Special thanks to fraternity brother Lincoln Stephens for the invitation and for making sure I could be in the room.

It also made me reflect on the late Jonathan P. Hicks — a respected journalist with The New York Times and the New York Amsterdam News — who believed strongly in connecting people across communities and industries.

Sometimes the most important opportunities come from relationships and people who believe in bringing others into the room.

Health equity, economic opportunity, and community development are more connected than many people realize.

Grateful to represent the mission of Minority Health Partners in spaces like this.

03/05/2026

Many patients end up in the emergency room for issues that could be treated at urgent care — and that can lead to long waits, higher bills, and unnecessary stress.

Understanding the difference can help you and your family make better healthcare decisions.

🚨 Emergency Room
For life-threatening situations such as chest pain, stroke symptoms, severe bleeding, seizures, or difficulty breathing.

🏥 Urgent Care
For non-life-threatening medical needs like flu symptoms, minor injuries, infections, allergies, or stomach illness.

Health literacy matters.

At Minority Health Partners, we focus on helping communities better understand how to navigate the healthcare system.

Because informed patients make better health decisions.

03/02/2026

In today’s video, I asked a simple question:

What do Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Barack Obama, and Dr. Cornel West have in common?

One shared trait is that they simplified daily decisions, including what they wear.

Why?

Because decision fatigue is real.

The more small decisions you make throughout the day, the less cognitive energy you have for important ones.

Reducing unnecessary decisions improves clarity, patience, and focus.

Standardize small routines. Create defaults. Automate what you can.

Mental health is not only about emotions. It’s also about how you structure your day.

Sometimes peace comes from deciding less.

02/27/2026

Just leaving my semi-annual dental cleaning.

This is something I always encourage because prevention truly matters.

Many cleanings are covered at low or no cost. And beyond cavities, your oral health impacts your heart, blood sugar control, and overall inflammation levels.

Gum disease has been linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

Your mouth is not separate from your body.

Prevention is powerful.

02/26/2026

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