Thank you Robert F. Smith for amplifying the mission of GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness. As you stated, Marcus and team are providing a lifeline for a community that has long been underserved. We are proud to have GreaterHealth in our 2023 Cohort.
#STLMade
Founder, Chairman and CEO at Vista Equity Partners
The opening of GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness is a significant milestone for St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by St. Louis native Marcus Howard, Ph.D., it is Missouri’s first Black-owned pharmacy. It serves 45,000 residents who previously lacked access to a local pharmacy. Dr. Howard’s return to his #community is a powerful testament to the impact that dedicated #entrepreneurs can have on #healthequity.
Access to healthcare is a fundamental need, yet many communities across the nation still face significant disparities. By establishing GreaterHealth, Dr. Howard is addressing these inequities head-on. Thousands of people now have the resources they need to manage their health and well-being. This is more than just a business — it’s a lifeline for a community that has long been underserved.
Entrepreneurship has always been a driving force for progress, especially within the Black community. Dr. Howard’s journey reflects the resilience and determination that are at the heart of Black-owned businesses. These businesses do more than create economic opportunity. They uplift communities, provide essential services and inspire the next generation of leaders.
What could be done in your community to help close health disparity gaps?
https://bit.ly/4gpscHS
We believe in technology for good. That means understanding the world of general practice and primary care to make sure what we develop actually solves a problem.
As a GP Partner, our CEO and co-founder, Dr Jay Verma is ideally placed to understand those pain points being faced, from rapidly increasing demand to changes in population health.
That's why he wrote his own mini manifesto for General Practice which went beyond promises for 'more GPs' and an 'end to the 8am rush'.
We'd love to know your thoughts and if you had any more policies, or the ones you'd put at the top?
#generalpractice#primarycare#medtech
🏥 Providing quality, affordable healthcare for all Texans - regardless of where they live - is a fundamental challenge our state faces everyday.
For rural communities spread across the vast Texas landscape, accessing basic medical services can be an immense hardship. Physician shortages, lack of transportation, and remote locations create significant barriers.
No Texan should have to decide between neglecting their health or driving hours to see a doctor. This disparity is unacceptable, and it will take innovative solutions to bridge these care gaps.
From exploring mobile clinics and telemedicine capabilities to incentivizing medical professionals to work in underserved areas, we have an obligation to make healthcare more equitable and accessible.
I invite collaborative thinking from communities, providers, and policymakers. What ideas can we put into action to improve rural healthcare outcomes? Every Texan deserves attainable wellness. 💡🤝
Advancing Ethical Standards in Kidney Care – Uniting Voices for Transparency, Patient-Centered Policies, and Accountability in Renal Health | Championing Ethical Reform in Dialysis Care
Why the Silence on the Renal Care Crisis?
To the Editors of @TheGuardian, POLITICO EuropePOLITICO, and The Atlantic
I write to you in disbelief over the glaring omission of one of the most pressing public health crises in America today: the corporate profiteering off dialysis patients. Your silence is deafening. Are you, too, complicit in protecting the Large Dialysis Organizations, Fresenius and DaVita, while thousands of Americans suffer and die under their watch?
Let’s talk numbers. Each year, over 85,000 Americans die while undergoing dialysis, an unforgiving treatment that strips them of their humanity. Another 100,000 are waiting for a transplant that, for many, will never come. And yet, year after year, the death toll is replenished as new patients are funneled into the system – nearly 130,000 new dialysis patients in the U.S. annually. These patients are seen as nothing more than dollar signs by the LDOs, each person worth around $250,000 per year to #DaVita and #Fresenius. Their combined revenue of over $25 billion is built on the backs of vulnerable patients, often minorities and marginalized communities, who have no other option but to submit to a system that makes billions off their suffering.
This is not just a tragedy; it is a systematic and relentless churn of human lives for profit – an industry fueled by the continuous cycle of death and replacement. Call it what it is: multiple holocausts in the name of corporate greed. It is unconscionable that this gross exploitation is not front-page news, every day, until real change happens.
As leading news organizations, you claim to champion social justice, yet you have overlooked a pandemic within our healthcare system. Have you truly thought about how many of your own friends, family members, or readers might be among those dying or struggling on #dialysis, only to be replaced by the next person in line as the LDOs profit? How many more lives will it take before you give this issue the attention it demands?
I challenge you to investigate this crisis, to hold the LDOs accountable, and to give voice to the thousands who have died and continue to suffer. Your readers deserve the truth, not another evasion. Show your commitment to integrity in journalism and put the human toll of dialysis profiteering under the lens it deserves. If not, you risk being remembered not as champions of justice but as silent collaborators in a scandal built on human suffering.
Advancing Ethical Standards in Kidney Care – Uniting Voices for Transparency, Patient-Centered Policies, and Accountability in Renal Health | Championing Ethical Reform in Dialysis Care
Today, a direct public message to Andy Pate, Helen Giza, and Joe Turk – executives of Fresenius Medical Care and NxStage Medical, Inc. is attached – calling out their leadership for the broken policies and practices that devastate #renal care in #America. This is not a quiet request for change but a demand for public accountability to every patient, caregiver, and advocate who is tired of watching corporations prioritize profits over people
Under their leadership, these companies have shown one consistent priority: protecting their bottom line. This is not just about numbers; it's about lives. The lack of meaningful progress in advancing the health and dignity of #dialysis patients is inexcusable. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also has a duty to stop this cycle of corporate profiteering and needs to be held accountable for their inaction.
Where is the leadership from US CongressU.S. House of RepresentativesU.S. House Committee on Ways & Means in holding these entities accountable? We can no longer tolerate a system in which advocacy groups, designed to represent patients, remain entangled in corporate influence, failing to speak truth to power
This letter will reach the social media masses and beyond, pushing for transparency, humanity, and reform in renal care. For those who work for these companies and silently accept these practices – the time has come to ask yourselves where you stand. Do you stand for equity, health, and human dignity? Or are you simply a Complicit Bystander, turning a blind eye to the suffering around you? To remain silent is to be part of the problem. Silence, born of fear or apathy, only exacerbates an already dehumanized system. It's a choice to let corporate greed persist unchecked, to allow patients to become mere data points and dollar signs
This is not a plea; it’s a call to action. If you have been wronged, burdened, or degraded by these companies, it’s time to speak up. Do not hide behind fear of retaliation or worry about access to care – these are excuses designed to maintain the status quo. You have rights, and you have a voice. Whether it’s you, your spouse, your sibling, or a friend, every story matters. Your silence will not protect you or those you love – it will only allow a corrupted system to continue unchecked
R.A.G.E. – Renal Advocacy for Genuine Equity – stands for change, for those who cannot afford to wait. We are taking action, demanding transparency, demanding humanity. We will hold these companies, and our #government leaders, accountable. This is not the end; it’s only the beginning of a movement for true, lasting reform
Bill RemakDon BaconAnna Eshoo For CongressBill CassidyBill KamelaSatellite Healthcare / WellBoundSomatusRenalytixDialityDavid MoskowitzJeffrey GoldLeslie TriggIkenna Okezie, MD, MBAChris RiopelleMichael MoralesRubin Chandran#ShareifyouCare
Advancing Ethical Standards in Kidney Care – Uniting Voices for Transparency, Patient-Centered Policies, and Accountability in Renal Health | Championing Ethical Reform in Dialysis Care
The silence from Fresenius Medical CareNxStage Medical, Inc. and their leadership—Andy Pate Pate, Helen Giza, Joe Turk speaks volumes. Despite repeated calls to address the serious issues affecting patients and care partners, they remain silent. And this silence? It’s a clear display of their priorities—protecting profits over patient well-being. They lack the professionalism, compassion, and decency to publicly confront these concerns. Hiding behind corporate walls is easier than addressing the broken system they perpetuate.
Their refusal to engage with patient issues shows a deep immaturity and lack of respect. They are unwilling to upset the status quo because it threatens their paychecks and corporate comfort. Fresenius and NxStage have built an empire, but it’s one based on greed and absenteeism. Their equipment remains inferior to other market options, and their unwillingness to improve it only highlights their indifference. Patients and care partners raise critical issues time and time again, and yet, these companies respond with silence—a disgusting display of professional negligence.
This isn’t just about broken machines or faulty devices. This is about a culture where profits come before people. It’s about a system where executives refuse to publicly acknowledge or fix the problems their companies create, all while claiming to care about patients. The truth is, they are banking off the backs of dialysis patients, and their lack of engagement proves it. Compassion is absent. Leadership is absent. And any genuine attempt at addressing the issues raised by patients is non-existent.
This message is for any company that pushes dialysis as the only option. You need to learn what real patient care looks like. It’s not about pushing patients through unnecessary treatments for the sake of profits. It’s about standing up to the staid quo and fighting for true care—care that prevents dialysis rather than pushing it as the inevitable end. The silence from you and your peers in the industry only confirms that you’re motivated by financial gain, not by a genuine desire to help people.
Shame on all of you for allowing a system to persist where patients are reduced to dollar signs, where compassion and care have been replaced with greed and ignorance. This silence, this refusal to publicly engage, is a choice—a choice to continue perpetuating a broken system that dehumanizes those it claims to serve.
This is not just a letter; this is a call to action. Patients, caregivers, and advocates will no longer remain silent. We will speak up, and we will hold these companies accountable. We demand transparency. We demand humanity. This is not the end; it’s only the beginning. The days of hiding behind corporate walls are over.
#PatientCareNotProfits#RenalReformNow#StandForPatients#CorporateAccountability#FightForPrevention
Advancing Ethical Standards in Kidney Care – Uniting Voices for Transparency, Patient-Centered Policies, and Accountability in Renal Health | Championing Ethical Reform in Dialysis Care
Today, a direct public message to Andy Pate, Helen Giza, and Joe Turk – executives of Fresenius Medical Care and NxStage Medical, Inc. is attached – calling out their leadership for the broken policies and practices that devastate #renal care in #America. This is not a quiet request for change but a demand for public accountability to every patient, caregiver, and advocate who is tired of watching corporations prioritize profits over people
Under their leadership, these companies have shown one consistent priority: protecting their bottom line. This is not just about numbers; it's about lives. The lack of meaningful progress in advancing the health and dignity of #dialysis patients is inexcusable. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also has a duty to stop this cycle of corporate profiteering and needs to be held accountable for their inaction.
Where is the leadership from US CongressU.S. House of RepresentativesU.S. House Committee on Ways & Means in holding these entities accountable? We can no longer tolerate a system in which advocacy groups, designed to represent patients, remain entangled in corporate influence, failing to speak truth to power
This letter will reach the social media masses and beyond, pushing for transparency, humanity, and reform in renal care. For those who work for these companies and silently accept these practices – the time has come to ask yourselves where you stand. Do you stand for equity, health, and human dignity? Or are you simply a Complicit Bystander, turning a blind eye to the suffering around you? To remain silent is to be part of the problem. Silence, born of fear or apathy, only exacerbates an already dehumanized system. It's a choice to let corporate greed persist unchecked, to allow patients to become mere data points and dollar signs
This is not a plea; it’s a call to action. If you have been wronged, burdened, or degraded by these companies, it’s time to speak up. Do not hide behind fear of retaliation or worry about access to care – these are excuses designed to maintain the status quo. You have rights, and you have a voice. Whether it’s you, your spouse, your sibling, or a friend, every story matters. Your silence will not protect you or those you love – it will only allow a corrupted system to continue unchecked
R.A.G.E. – Renal Advocacy for Genuine Equity – stands for change, for those who cannot afford to wait. We are taking action, demanding transparency, demanding humanity. We will hold these companies, and our #government leaders, accountable. This is not the end; it’s only the beginning of a movement for true, lasting reform
Bill RemakDon BaconAnna Eshoo For CongressBill CassidyBill KamelaSatellite Healthcare / WellBoundSomatusRenalytixDialityDavid MoskowitzJeffrey GoldLeslie TriggIkenna Okezie, MD, MBAChris RiopelleMichael MoralesRubin Chandran#ShareifyouCare
Advancing Ethical Standards in Kidney Care – Uniting Voices for Transparency, Patient-Centered Policies, and Accountability in Renal Health | Championing Ethical Reform in Dialysis Care
Today, a direct public message to Andy Pate, Helen Giza, and Joe Turk – executives of Fresenius Medical Care and NxStage Medical, Inc. is attached – calling out their leadership for the broken policies and practices that devastate #renal care in #America. This is not a quiet request for change but a demand for public accountability to every patient, caregiver, and advocate who is tired of watching corporations prioritize profits over people
Under their leadership, these companies have shown one consistent priority: protecting their bottom line. This is not just about numbers; it's about lives. The lack of meaningful progress in advancing the health and dignity of #dialysis patients is inexcusable. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also has a duty to stop this cycle of corporate profiteering and needs to be held accountable for their inaction.
Where is the leadership from US CongressU.S. House of RepresentativesU.S. House Committee on Ways & Means in holding these entities accountable? We can no longer tolerate a system in which advocacy groups, designed to represent patients, remain entangled in corporate influence, failing to speak truth to power
This letter will reach the social media masses and beyond, pushing for transparency, humanity, and reform in renal care. For those who work for these companies and silently accept these practices – the time has come to ask yourselves where you stand. Do you stand for equity, health, and human dignity? Or are you simply a Complicit Bystander, turning a blind eye to the suffering around you? To remain silent is to be part of the problem. Silence, born of fear or apathy, only exacerbates an already dehumanized system. It's a choice to let corporate greed persist unchecked, to allow patients to become mere data points and dollar signs
This is not a plea; it’s a call to action. If you have been wronged, burdened, or degraded by these companies, it’s time to speak up. Do not hide behind fear of retaliation or worry about access to care – these are excuses designed to maintain the status quo. You have rights, and you have a voice. Whether it’s you, your spouse, your sibling, or a friend, every story matters. Your silence will not protect you or those you love – it will only allow a corrupted system to continue unchecked
R.A.G.E. – Renal Advocacy for Genuine Equity – stands for change, for those who cannot afford to wait. We are taking action, demanding transparency, demanding humanity. We will hold these companies, and our #government leaders, accountable. This is not the end; it’s only the beginning of a movement for true, lasting reform
Bill RemakDon BaconAnna Eshoo For CongressBill CassidyBill KamelaSatellite Healthcare / WellBoundSomatusRenalytixDialityDavid MoskowitzJeffrey GoldLeslie TriggIkenna Okezie, MD, MBAChris RiopelleMichael MoralesRubin Chandran#ShareifyouCare
Advocating for Healthcare as a Right: A Conversation with Congresswoman Lucy McBath
At the National Orthopedic Leadership Conference, I had the honor of meeting with Congresswoman Lucy McBath, a leader who truly understands the needs of her constituents and fights daily for improved access to care, particularly in rural Georgia. Her passion for healthcare equity is clear—she believes that healthcare is not a privilege but a fundamental right that every Georgian should have access to, regardless of where they live or their socioeconomic status.
During our discussion, Congresswoman McBath highlighted the unique challenges faced by rural communities, where access to specialists, timely care, and even basic health services is often limited. She has made it her mission to address these disparities, advocating for policies that close the healthcare gap and ensure that no one is left behind, no matter how remote their location.
Her tireless work reflects her deep understanding of the struggles her constituents face, especially those in underserved areas. Whether it’s pushing for expanded healthcare coverage or improving the availability of essential services, Congresswoman McBath is on the front lines, advocating for solutions that benefit all Georgians.
What resonated with me most was her unwavering belief that healthcare is a right. This principle fuels her advocacy and drives her to push for legislative changes that prioritize patient care and access. In a time where healthcare inequities are glaringly evident, Congresswoman McBath’s leadership reminds us that we must continue to fight for a system that works for everyone—urban, suburban, or rural.
Her commitment to ensuring that every Georgian has access to the care they need inspires me and reinforces the importance of advocating for healthcare policies that serve all communities.
#HealthcareAdvocacy#RuralHealth#PatientCare#HealthcareIsARight#PhysicianLeadership
Exciting news in the world of health equity! We’ve launched the Health Equity Inventory, a powerful tool to help organizations better coordinate their efforts across research, clinical care, education, and community engagement. This data-driven approach will be key in closing the gaps in health disparities. We’re eager to hear your thoughts on this innovative resource - let's continue to drive progress in health equity together: https://ow.ly/2Ts550Si7qP#HealthEquity#AAMC
Chief Executive Officer at GreaterHealth Pharmacy & Wellness
1moThanks for sharing!