10 April 2020 – Creation of COVID-19 health equity task force

Type of Intervention: New Tool / Service / Body, Specific Action
Sectors Involved: Executive Office
Intervention Categories: Planning and strategy; Creating and using advisory groups or committees
Level of Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Lead People/Agency: Governor John Bel Edwards, Louisiana Department of Health: Decision Makers, Implementer
Local University’s Public Policy Schools (SMU, LSU, Tulane, Xavier): Partners

Overview: Governor John Bel Edwards announced the creation of the Louisiana COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, which will look at how health inequities are affecting communities that are most impacted by the coronavirus. The findings and recommendations made by this Task Force will help everyone better access quality care and improve health outcomes. It will also leverage our research capabilities and intellectual brainpower in a collective manner. The immediate assignment is to make sure communities with health disparities are blanketed with good information on COVID-19 safety and prevention; provide the medical community with best practices and protocols for treating communities with underlying medical conditions and health disparities; and ensure testing availability and ease of access for all communities.
Full details here: https://gov.louisiana.gov/index.cfm/newsroom/detail/2457

Type of Justification: Advice of EXTERNAL expert advisor or advisory committee, Scientific Evidence (e.g. academic paper, report)
Source of Evidence or Justification: Scientific evidence from the CDC in conjuction with partnering universities.
Evidence/Justification: “We know that right now 70 percent of our deaths in Louisiana from coronavirus are African Americans. This is a disturbing trend and one that deserves our attention, which is why we are engaging a group of leaders right now while the crisis is still ongoing,”–Gov. Edwards