When midwife Jennie Joseph first arrived in Orlando, in 1989 she had no idea that the word “disparity” could apply to medical care or health outcomes. A product of the British National Healthcare System, Joseph expected that all citizens would have access to healthcare whenever they needed it, no matter what their financial status. Sixteen years later, and still trying to come to terms with the “American Way” of health, Joseph is launching Nubian Health Network- a women’s resource database, information and support network.

Joseph, a midwife of twenty-five years standing, has been practicing in the Orlando area since 1995. Currently the owner and director of The Birth Place, birthing center in Winter Garden, she sees women from all walks of life that are expecting healthy babies and choose a natural birth.

In 2003, she was examining a postpartum patient when she found a suspicious breast lump. The battle for care began immediately for this uninsured African American woman. It took Joseph and her staff five months before they could find a way for her patient to have a mammogram. “Another few weeks passed as we struggled to find a physician to take on the case; it was so frustrating,” states Joseph, “It was at that point that I knew something had to be done. So many other women have fallen by the wayside, literally given up the fight and ended up waiting too long to be helped”. Nubian Health Network aims not only to find information and resources to share with women, but to put practical steps in front of them so that they can truly negotiate the system. A step 1, step 2, and so on, flow sheet will be provided for each medical concern, essentially walking the patient through their particular situation in order to promote easier access to any and all local resources and therefore real help.

“As a professional with contacts, insider information and some ‘clout’, I was still unable to help my patient in a timely fashion,” said Joseph. “How much harder must it be if you are scared, confused and outside of your area of expertise or knowledge”?

Racial disparities in health outcomes are not going away, in some cases they are getting worse. It is not only the poor and disenfranchised that comprise these statistics; all income levels are affected. One year and a half later, Joseph’s patient is cancer free. “Let’s share our stories and our resources so that every Central Florida woman can have access to health”

Joseph is hosting an event on June 18th 2005 at the Downtown Media Arts Center at 39 S. Magnolia Street, Orlando, Fl. 32801. A moving documentary called “Bringin' in Da Sprit” narrated by Phylicia Rashad will be shown for the first time in the state of Florida. This film chronicles the history of Black midwives and their contributions to their community and the health of the society at large. A town hall style discussion will follow to raise awareness of The State of Black Women’s Health in Central Florida. All are welcome to join in as professionals, agencies and consumers share insight and information on this extremely important topic.