‘Colorful Conversations – Access to Healthcare in Communities of Color’ will be held virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

Submitted

The West Hartford Chamber of Commerce, through its Minority Business Network, will hold the next in their Colorful Conversations series on Wednesday, Oct. 6 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. via Zoom and Facebook Live. The Q&A-based forum will center around issues and concerns related to access to healthcare in underrepresented communities.

Minority Business Network Chairman Christopher Clarke of Merrill Bank of America will serve as moderator for the hour and a half event. “This upcoming Colorful Conversations addresses a topic that many People of Color will find relatable,” says Clarke.  “Most of us have experienced, whether directly or through our loved ones, situations in which the health care system treated us differently.”

Panelists for the forum are: Dr. Vasanth Kainkaryam, internist, pediatrician, and founder of 4 Elements Direct Primary Care; Kenneth McClary, deputy vice president, Community Healthcare Center, Inc.; and Dr. Peter Hotez, head of Texas Children’s CVD and an internationally-recognized physician-scientist in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development.

The Minority Business Network is a committee of the Chamber. It was founded in early 2020 as a means of providing visibility, networking opportunities and resources to Chamber members who are also members of underrepresented racial, ethnic, and religious populations. Their mission is to “increase visibility of minority-owned businesses, provide a discussion forum for the unique challenges faced by minority professionals, and increase diversity of Chamber membership.”

Colorful Conversations is the continuation of a series of roundtable forums the committee co-facilitated in late 2020 with Charter Oak State College Foundation. The three-part Shea Lecture series focused on disparities and inequities regarding access to capital, education, food and healthcare in minority communities.

“This pandemic has taken so much from us and our loved ones and change life as we know it, conversation like these in my opinion, help more of us forward in terms of developing solutions to achieve health equity,” says McClary.

Comcast Business, Liberty Bank, and The North Star Realtors are Gold Sponsors and Westfield Bank is Technology Sponsor for the event. To register for the Zoom visit: https://www.whchamber.com/events/details/colorful-conversations-access-to-health-care-in-communities-of-color-7169

For more information on the West Hartford Chamber’s Minority Business Network, visit: https://www.whchamber.com/minority-business-network.

For more information on the event or to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact Kate Kobs – Outreach & Development Coordinator at [email protected].

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