- This event has passed.
Critical Dialogue: Maternal Health Disparities in the Black Community
February 17, 2023 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
WSU College of Nursing is hosting a two-part event — the first is the free virtual screening of AFTERSHOCK, which raises awareness of the disparities in maternal health in the black community. The second part of the event will be a virtual panel discussion examining the disparities on a national, regional and local basis to identify strategies that nurses and healthcare providers can use to improve equity and reduce racism.
Nursing faculty, staff, and students are invited to register for a virtual screening of the documentary, AFTERSHOCK. Virtual panel discussion will be held on February 17th from 2:30pm to 4:00pm Pacific time, via Zoom.
The virtual panel discussion led by:
How to Register
- To watch the film without a Hulu subscription: sign up below to get a unique viewing code, and watch the film before the panel discussion on February 17th.
NOTE: Free access to the documentary is limited to the first 400 participants. - To access the panel discussion: register below for the Zoom link and indicate that you are attending the panel discussion.
- All participants who watch the film and participate in the discussion panel may earn (3) Continuing Education (CE) credits.
- Virtual screening and discussion panel participation can apply toward DEI Continuing Education credit for the College of Nursing DEI Advocate Recognition Program. To apply: https://nursing.wsu.edu/diversity/.
Registration is closed
Thank you for your interest in the virtual screening of the AFTERSHOCK documentary.
If you missed the screening you can still view the film on Hulu at https://www.hulu.com/movie/aftershock-c1414fdf-0741-4bd2-b62c-554db3d8f643
We are grateful for your thoughtful consideration and look forward to continuing the conversation as you share your experience with others.
Upon registration you will receive a virtual screening link and unique viewing code.
AFTERSHOCK SYNOPSIS
In October 2019, 30-year-old Shamony Gibson tragically died after being ignored by medical providers 13 days following the birth of her son. Two months later, we began filming Shamony’s surviving mother, Shawnee Benton Gibson, and bereaved partner, Omari Maynard, as they began to process what happened and figure out their new normal.
In April 2020, 26-year-old Amber Rose Isaac, died due to an emergency c-section that stemmed from medical negligence. Within weeks of Amber’s death, Omari reaches out to Amber’s surviving partner Bruce McIntyre and a lifelong bond is formed. Together, Omari and Bruce begin the fight for justice for their partners with their families and community by their side, while caring for their children as newly single parents.
Through the film, we witness these two families become ardent activists in the maternal health space, seeking justice through legislation, medical accountability, community, and the power of art. Their work introduces us to a myriad of people including a growing brotherhood of surviving Black fathers, along with the work of midwives and physicians on the ground fighting for institutional reform. Through their collective journeys, we find ourselves on the front lines of the growing birth justice movement that is demanding systemic change within our medical system and government.
- Trailer: bit.ly/Aftershock-Trailer
- Run-time: 89 mins
- Directed and Produced by: Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee
- Featuring: Shawnee Benton Gibson, Bruce McIntyre, Omari Maynard
Panelist Biographies
Stephaine Courtney
Co-Panelist
Stephaine Courtney is an art activist, educator and creative influencer in social justice who is passionate about uplifting voices in creative ways to highlight problems and solutions that are impacting local and nationwide communities. She is the proud owner of The Learning Project Network and The Shades of Motherhood Network which is a new nonprofit creating solutions for women of color and women who have children of color through creative peer groups.
A graduate of Whitworth University, she earned her English degree and completed her Master’s in Education at Ashford University. She has also received training in African-American postpartum, Studies in African American families and Perinatal mental health from Postpartum International.
Courtney is a proud member of the Health Equity Circle, Mom’s Rising, and Mom’s Congress. She is most proud of her work focused on black maternal care. In April 2022 Courtney created the first Black Maternal Health Week in Spokane Washington. During this week she highlighted doulas across the country to bring awareness to the power of support through the lens of a doula. Through her podcast “Girl get a Doula,” she explored how care and support saves lives and how cultural representation and practices helped reconnect people to a different side of maternal care.
Courtney also partnered with doulas in creating a Black Maternal Art Exhibit showing and elevating black birthing stories of individuals through images. These images not only showed the power of support during vaginal births, C-sections, and emotional care, she highlighted the loss and unspoken traditional cares of African-American culture.
Courtney also created a small Healthcare Community conversation at the Carl Maxey Center in Spokane. During this week space was created for health care providers to learn and conversate about the issues impacting black maternal care. During this important conversation, they took the time to watch a small short film called “Toxic,” where they were able to see the day in a life of a black mother who suffered and was not heard during her pregnancy.
Black Maternal care is Courtney’s passion but she realizes that we will never get there until we really do the true work of maternal health. “When we create spaces to heal children, families and Community then we can truly deal with the issues that are impacting black women and birthing people every day” Courtney states. She calls this room work for the very simple fact that if we want to create better support systems people have to be able to receive them. That means that we need to do the work and create safe spaces for people to practice how to receive and give support. By humanizing black bodies and their voices she says that our community will see people and their concerns in a different way.
Dr. Connie Nguyen-Truong, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAANWSU Vancouver Associate Professor
Connie Kim Yen Nguyen-Truong is a tenured Associate Professor at Washington State University College of Nursing and from the Vancouver campus. She is recognized as an Inclusive Excellence Scholar in Residence. Connie is a Fellow of the National League for Nursing Academy of Nursing Education, American Academy of Nursing, and the Coalition of Communities of Color Leaders Bridges – Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Institute. Connie’s research areas include culturally specific, disaggregated data; immigrants and marginalized communities; community-based participatory and community-engaged research; parent leadership and early learning; and diversity and inclusion in health-assistive and technology research including adoption, and anti-racism. She is Vietnamese American, bilingual, and with a Guamanian Micronesian Islander background. Connie is a devoted mother to young twin children and partner and a parent advocate for neuro diversity.
Jennifer Hanlon-Wilde, DNP, MSN, RN, FNP-CWSU Vancouver Assistant Professor
Jennifer Hanlon-Wilde is a family nurse practitioner and clinical assistant professor in the College of Nursing. She grew up outside Boston, MA, studied at American University and the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and received the DNP here at WSU Vancouver in 2021. She worked for eighteen years at Columbia River Women’s Center providing primary and gynecologic care and has worked in family practice, shipboard, and urgent care settings, and also served as a sexual assault nurse examiner for many years. She currently cares for patients’ reproductive health in the public health department. She is passionate about health disparities, the arts in healing, and global health. She is the adoptive mother of three young adults who make her very proud.
