The Fidelis Care Blog

Fidelis Care Chief Medical Officer Dr. Vincent Marchello presented a $20,000 maternal health grant to Life of Hope in Brooklyn. The funding is one of nine grants awarded to community-based not-for-profit organizations that support maternal health and wellness across New York State. The grants, totaling $158,000, will assist these organizations that play a vital role in ensuring safe pregnancies and healthy babies – particularly for underserved, lower-income women and their families.

It’s amazing the influence one generation can have on the next. When I look in the mirror, I see my mother’s eyes. I have my grandmother’s creativity and love for music. Over and over, physical traits are passed from generation to generation, along with interests, talents, personality, and character traits. One thing it shows clearly - we influence others more than we think we do. And this doesn’t just happen in families. Each person has their own sphere of influence regardless of their family ties. As I look at my life, I can clearly see that I have been influenced strongly by the women who have come before me.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to recall the many accomplishments women have made in our society. As I reflect upon the observance, I am drawn to my own path to becoming a doctor. My earliest memories are filled with emergency room visits and hospitalizations related to my childhood asthma and food allergies – which often led to life-threatening reactions. The scene was always the same. It was dark outside, I would be hurried into the car, and taken to a local hospital on Staten Island. I have vivid flashbacks of opening my eyes to doctors, nurses, and medical staff around me, as I lay helpless on the hospital bed.

Disparities in health care among African Americans include health care coverage, employment in the sector, and health conditions. African Americans are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, or asthma and have a shorter life expectancy than their white counterparts.

February marks Black History Month. As an African American male, I study and engage in Black history every month, but February allows me a time to focus on ways to improve my community and myself.