Access deserts, Magnet designation, and comorbidity management centers in Boston. Featuring Sasha Dubois.

Brigham and Women’s nurse Sasha Dubois, MSN, RN discusses how racial segregation, gentrification, and displacement in her native Boston can create “healthcare access deserts” that fuel health disparities, even in an area where there are a number of high-quality hospitals. Establishing medical homes in the communities where patients are is one approach that Brigham and Women’s is implementing, together with centers that focus on understanding and managing multiple co-morbidities by integrating factors such as social determinants into care plans and health records. Sasha is an expert in Magnet designation, a driver for excellence which raises standards of care and encourages a more patient centered approach. Magnet also emphasizes the importance of cultural competency, unconscious bias, and understanding disparities. With Dr Carla Harwell.