Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Importance of Diversifying Medical Education [Podcast]
Posted February 28, 2024
Minority Health Month and the Social Determinants of Health [Podcast]
Posted April 18, 2023 by Iriel Hopkins & Marlo Schmidt
Juneteenth: What It Is and Why It’s Celebrated [Podcast]
Posted June 14, 2022 by Dr. Yoleetah Ilodi & Iriel Hopkins
Summa Health's Project SEARCH helps young adults with disabilities gain employment
Posted April 18, 2022 by Jessica Goff, Manager, Volunteer Services
Summa Health is helping to educate and employ young adults with disabilities one student at a time through Project SEARCH.
Since 2005, Summa Health has partnered with the Six District Educational Compact, a regional collaborative that provides career-technical education programs, to offer high-school students a one-year, school-to-work transition program on-site. Modeled after the growing Project SEARCHnational program, the initiative is designed to help qualified students…
Get the facts on heart disease in Black women
Posted February 21, 2022 by Dr. Grace Ayafor
Updated February 2025
You may have heard heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 killers in women. But did you know that cardiovascular disease, including stroke, disproportionately affects Black women?
It’s true. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), 60 percent of Non-Hispanic Black women aged 20 and older have some form of cardiovascular disease. Black women have almost two times higher risk of stroke than Caucasians and are sadly more likely to…
Summa Health joins the cause to reduce racial disparity in Akron communities
Posted February 07, 2022 by Tracy Carter & Iriel Hopkins, MSW, LSW
With a national spotlight on racism in recent years, numerous efforts across the country are underway to help reduce racial disparity, and the city of Akron and Summa Health are jumping in to join the fight.
Last summer, the city of Akron declared racism a public health crisis and put plans in place to reduce racial disparity here at home through the newly created Racial Equity and Social Justice Taskforce. The taskforce’s mission is to build public trust by making…
African-Americans More at Risk for Heart Disease
Posted February 15, 2021 by Grace Ayafor, M.D., FSCAI
February is Black History Month, when we recognize African-Americans and those of color who have played major roles in shaping our present culture. February is also American Heart Health month – a time to raise awareness of heart disease. While these two events are different, they are linked in healthcare. Heart disease remains the number one killer of Americans, and African-Americans are 20 percent more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites.
We do not…
Summa Doctors Address The Black Community’s Hesitancy With The COVID-19 Vaccine [Podcast]
Posted February 10, 2021 by Yoleetah Ilodi, MD
Listen to this episode of the Healthy Vitals Podcast featuring Drs. Yoleetah and George Ilodi.
Hispanics and diabetes: Are you at a higher risk for developing diabetic wounds?
Posted November 18, 2018 by Drazen Petrinec, M.D. Summa Health Vascular Surgery
Type 2 diabetes is at an all-time high in the United States. One of three types of diabetes - a disease that causes your blood glucose levels to rise higher than normal - type 2 has a direct correlation with your choices in diet and the amount of physical activity you do on a regular basis.
Did you know that the CDC estimates 40 percent of all US adults have type 2 diabetes? Another staggering statistic: 50 percent of all U.S. Hispanics will develop this disease and they are twice as likely to die from it. More than 30 million Americans have diabetes and 1 in 4 don’t even know they have it.
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