Ignatius Bau is an independent Health Equity Consultant based in San Francisco, California, who currently works with non-profit organizations, foundations, and government departments to improve care delivery and patient safety. In his role, he provides analysis of public policies, facilitates meetings, plans events, and conferences, and supports the development and implementation of organizational and programmatic strategies.
Ignatius has led many career paths in his experience. He began as a Civil Rights and Immigration Law Attorney after obtaining his JD from the University of California, Berkeley. Later, he worked as the Program Officer and Program Director at the California Endowment and directed health policy and programs at the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum. Ignatius has also served on a host of expert advisory panels and councils on HIV/AIDS among minorities, Asian American and Pacific Islander health and wellness, immigrants, and refugee rights, and LGBTQIA+ issues, to name a few.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
• What is the Asian American and Pacific Islander Presidential Memorandum
• How the Presidential Memorandum is being implemented by the Biden-Harris administration
• How community organizations have mobilized to address Anti-Asian Hate
• The disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
• A glimpse into ATW’s project with the Office of Minority Health in response to the Presidential Memorandum
• Advice to community members and health care professionals on how to get involved
In this episode…
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) are often ignored or labeled as model minorities. The concept of the model minority is a myth that dangerously perpetuates the idea that AANHPIs are more well-off than everyone else and assumes that there is no reason why the Federal, state, and local governments nor healthcare systems should pay attention to their needs.
Unfortunately, we have seen a surge in hate towards Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic fueled by inflammatory and xenophobic rhetoric. Community-based organizations have mobilized to collect information about these incidents, as many are not on official law enforcement records, finding that they were largely accompanied by COVID-19 related statements and targeted various Asian ethnicities. The pandemic also highlighted the lack of data on AANHPI communities, an issue that precedes COVID-19.
In this episode of the Patient Partner Innovation Community podcast, Desiree Bradley is joined by Ignatius Bau, Health Equity Consultant in San Fransisco, California, to discuss the Presidential Memorandum, ATW’s current work with the Office of Minority Health, and how to get involved.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode: