Students, health professionals and members of the Bethlehem community gathered Thursday to examine the structural and cultural barriers that prevent many from accessing quality healthcare locally, nationally and globally.
The Equity Town Hall, held in honor of National Public Health Week, was hosted by the Health, Science and Technology Building Health and Public Health Club in Lehigh. Among several themes, the event focused on differences in access to healthcare between low-income and developmental areas.
Ava Delauro, ’26, and Jia Li, ’26, Co-Chairman And the founder of the Public Health Club said the event was conversation-based and intentionally designed to induce open dialogue rather than providing traditional panel presentations. The two also moderated the conversation.
Delauro Equity Town Hall is the biggest event of the club’s semester and reflects the group’s mission to promote public health discourse beyond students on the Medtrack ahead of time.
“People always think that public health is just for the previous Med,” Delauro said. “But public health is an area that impacts everyone, so we started this club, to create space for public health conversations and initiatives on campus.”
Kristen Wenrich, director of the Bethlehem Health Bureau, spoke at the event. She said finding shared values is key to addressing the gap in access to healthcare.
“It’s a real shame that health equity has become a very polarized topic,” Wenrich said. “But I think restructuring how we talk about it, focusing on a common foundation, will help us advance meaningful solutions.”
Sandra Boakier, a doctoral student at the University of Health, is known as “Inspire Her,” the founder of a nonprofit organization on women’s health in Ghana. She said that nonprofits work to deal with menstrual equity and poverty of the times..
At the event, she said there are cultural barriers that affect women’s access to care, especially in communities where hospital births are considered taboo. She also said religious and privacy concerns could prevent women from seeking care in healthcare facilities.
“The first step is recognition,” Boakye said. “If women don’t feel emotionally or culturally safe in the hospital, they’re not going, even if the resources are technically there.”
She said her nonprofit organization was able to participate in successful interventions. For example, she said she created a system to help women take trustworthy families like their mothers to hospitals during childbirth.
Boakye said giving birth in a healthcare facility could provide long-term benefits, such as ensuring that newborns receive important vaccinations and postnatal care. She also said that making simple changes to care that makes women feel supported and respected could lead to more positive outcomes and increased return visits.
“Trust is a big factor,” she said. “When you see women and their babies being safe and their cultural and emotional needs are respected, they are more likely to come back.”
The panelists also discussed barriers to health care in the United States. They agreed that it often stems from financial or structural issues.
Discussion panelist Ellendenizard is the director of clinical services Star Community Healtha federally qualified health center belonging to St. Luke. She said the centre will provide care to all patients regardless of insurance situation.
Denizard said the service is offered to uninsured patients on the scale of slide fees, making it more accessible and affordable.
She also said many patients in Lehigh Valley lack reliable transport for appointments and need improvements in public transport as well as integrated care models that support the broader needs of patients.
Dennizard said the health of the Star Community has begun to hire more social workers at clinics to support insurance, prescriptions, transportation, food insecurity and housing.
“We’re about to stop working on silos,” she said.
She also said for many of its patients the centre is the only place they feel safe.
“The current political situation makes it difficult to trust the system, especially for undocumented individuals,” Dennizard said. “But we strictly follow HIPAA And make sure people have their information protected. ”
City Hall also tackled the growing distrust of public health agencies. Panelists are associated with widespread misinformation and politicization of health issues.
Wenrich said years ago that when the CDC said something, people believed it.
“But now, using social media and alternative sources, people are doing their own ‘study’ and spreading conspiracy theories quickly,” she said. “We need to rethink how we communicate.”
As the panel concluded, Boakye said students can help change the narrative about access to health, including policy advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and community organisation.
“Health equity means ensuring that everyone has access to quality care, regardless of background or income,” she said. “And if we’re bold enough to rethink our system, we can make that vision a reality.”
