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Updated: November 15, 2020 / 2020 Health Care Heroes

Sarah S. Lewis

Sarah S. Lewis, Vice President, Health Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Hartford HealthCare

 

Honoree category: Community Service — Advocacy/Policy


COVID-19 shed a long overdue and bright light on historic and systemic inequities in the healthcare of minority populations. If you are Black in Connecticut and get COVID-19, you are more than twice as likely to die and five times more likely to be hospitalized.

As vice president of health equity, diversity and inclusion at Hartford HealthCare, Sarah Lewis examines such numbers and explores how to break the cycle of barriers to equitable health care, and be proactive when a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available.

Lewis has been instrumental in building Hartford HealthCare’s testing capacity in underserved communities, strengthening relationships with community partners, local health districts and faith-based organizations to single-handedly address racial disparities among the Black population.

Lewis is helping Hartford HealthCare lead the way through her research, identifying tools and practices to communicate important information to the underserved population.

Through her efforts, Hartford HealthCare is actively providing testing and awareness initiatives in those specific communities.

To date, Hartford HealthCare has performed tens of thousands of tests, and brought mobile testing to Black communities and faith-based organizations where hundreds of residents lined up — who otherwise would likely not get tested.

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