Fight for life

BY: Erica Phillips

Dr. Chris Morgan of Morgan Chiropractic & Wellness has parlayed two things he enjoys into a successful business: healthcare and athletics. The Toronto-based doctor is also the founder and chair of the Black Health Alliance (BHA), a non-profit organization that was established in 2000.

“While working in the community, I came to the realization that there are a number of different groups trying to improve the health of blacks in the community, but I didn’t see a significant amount of collaboration or combined efforts,” says Morgan.

As a member of The Association for the Advancement of Blacks in the Health Sciences, he first approached some of his colleagues about establishing a collective with a single goal in mind: unifying the different organizations including the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Sickle Cell Association of Ontario, Caribbean Chapter of the Canadian Diabetes Association, and sharing information.

“Much of what BHA has been able to achieve has only been through partnerships. It’s actually the reason why we were formed in the very beginning,” he says. Today the BHA includes doctors, mental-health professionals, nutritionists, social service providers and others who are working in the black community.

The BHA works on joint projects and initiatives to provide much stronger representation to various stakeholders and the government. It also does a lot of outreach, sending speakers to churches, career fairs, public forums and other venues to help promote better health and wellness among African-Canadians.

In 2002, Health Canada’s Romanow Commission was developing its report, “Building on Values: The Future of Healthcare in Canada,” a series of recommendations focussing on how to improve Canada’s healthcare system. When Morgan noticed there were very few submissions representing issues of importance to the black community, he led the BHA in making his concerns official. “One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to healthcare,” says Morgan. He stresses the importance of addressing social and environmental factors, including racism and economic status, that affect the health of African-Canadians.

The BHA made several recommendations in the areas of HIV, hypertension and diabetes. Some of their proposed strategies included providing services in a culturally appropriate way, prevention education and setting up structures for better partnerships among associations and individuals. The alliance also recommended collecting ethnicity-based statistics on health for better tracking, monitoring and treatment.

In conjunction with York University and the Wellesley Institute, the BHA surveyed more than 50 young black men and women in Scarborough about their experiences with the healthcare system. The report, released in 2005, was enlightening. “We found that young black males seek information differently than young black females, and that for young black males, violence is a major concern,” Morgan says.

As a result of its hard work, the BHA established the TAIBU (Kiswahili for be in good health) Community Health Centre in the Malvern area of Scarborough, a comprehensive primary healthcare centre with a variety of programs. The centre has been operating out of a temporary location since April; a permanent 15,000-square-foot site is expected to open at the Malvern Town Centre in spring 2010. The goals of the BHA are to build more partnerships while continuing to mobilize the community and influence public policy.

Says Morgan: “I hope we can become an agent of change to help influence how healthcare is designed and administered so that when decisions are being made, we will have an impact on the health and well-being of our community.”

- For more information about the BHA, visit blackhealthalliance.ca.