APA Board Marks MLK Day with Formal Apology for Past Racist Practices  

The federal holiday honoring King is annually held on the third Monday in January.

The executive body of a prominent nationwide healthcare organization has issued a formal apology for what it described as a history of racism, the announcement coinciding with the federal holiday honoring the life and work of civil-rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Board of Trustees made the announcement on Monday, citing a historical track record of “enabling discriminatory and prejudicial actions within APA, and racist practices in psychiatric treatment for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).”  The apology was addressed to APA members, patients, their families, and the public, and was accompanied by a document outlining specific practices and policies it said were at fault, dating “to the time of the founding of the APA” in 1844.

“The Board is issuing this document on Martin Luther King Jr. Day because we hope that it honors his life’s work of reconciliation and equality,” APA President Jeffrey Geller, M.D., M.P.H., said in a statement accompanying a press release. “We do not take that legacy or his call to action lightly.”

In the statement, APA’s trustees acknowledged that early psychiatric practices laid the groundwork for “inequities in clinical treatment that have historically limited access to quality psychiatric care for BIPOC.”

“These actions sadly connect with larger social issues, such as race-based discrimination and racial injustice, that have furthered poverty along with other adverse outcomes,” the statement read. “Since APA’s inception, practitioners have at times subjected persons of African descent and Indigenous people who suffered from mental illness to abusive treatment, experimentation, (and) victimization in the name of ‘scientific evidence,’ along with racialized theories that attempted to confirm their deficit status. Similar race-based discrepancies in care also exist in medical practice today, as evidenced by the variations in schizophrenia diagnosis between white and BIPOC patients, for instance.”

“Unfortunately, APA has historically remained silent on these issues,” the statement continued. “As the leading American organization in psychiatric care, APA recognizes that this inaction has contributed to perpetuation of structural racism that has adversely impacted not just its own BIPOC members, but also psychiatric patients across America. We hope this apology will be a turning point as we strive to make the future of psychiatry more equitable for all.”

The apology is part of an initiative spearheaded by Geller soon after he became APA President last April, with a goal of addressing structural racism in psychiatry – and ultimately eradicating it. The initiative involved, among other actions, forming a task force with stated goals to provide education and resources on APA’s and psychiatry’s history regarding structural racism; to explain the current impact of structural racism on the mental health of patients and colleagues; to develop achievable recommendations for change to eliminate structural racism in APA and psychiatry, now and in the future; and to provide reports with specific recommendations for achievable actions to the APA Board of Trustees at each of its meetings through May.

“Many will argue this apology should have come sooner,” Geller said. “That said, the events of 2020 – the killings of Black people by police, the health inequities laid bare by the pandemic – were an eye-opener for many among our membership, and a clarion call that it was past time to take action.”

The APA boasts a membership of nearly 39,000 professionals nationwide; its four-pronged mission statement proclaims goals of promoting the highest-quality care for individuals with mental illness, including substance use disorders, and their families; promoting psychiatric education and research; advancing and representing the profession of psychiatry; and serving the professional needs of its membership.

First observed in 1986, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is held annually on the third Monday of January, roughly coinciding with Dr. King’s birthday of Jan. 15. It is one of only three federal holidays honoring individual people (George Washington and Christopher Columbus are the two others), and one of only two national days of service designated by the federal government to promote volunteer citizen action to benefit others (the September 11 National Day of Service is the other).

Born in Atlanta in 1929, King rose to national prominence as the face of the national civil rights movement, which culminated with the passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize that same year, reflecting his commitment to the tenets of nonviolence and civil disobedience, he continued to advocate for progressive causes and labor rights until his assassination in 1968.

The APA also announced Monday that it will be holding a town hall, titled “Structural Racism & Psychiatric Residency Training: Recruitment, Retention, and Development,” scheduled for Monday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. EST. Panelists will address the “disproportionate number of minority psychiatrists, their experiences in different practice settings, and why having diversity in the psychiatric workforce psychiatry is important for everyone.”

To read the APA’s statement in its entirety, go online to https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/apa-apology-for-its-support-of-structural-racism-in-psychiatry.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Mark Spivey

Mark Spivey is a national correspondent for RACmonitor.com, ICD10monitor.com, and Auditor Monitor who has been writing and editing material about the federal oversight of American healthcare for more than a decade.

Related Stories

Leave a Reply

Please log in to your account to comment on this article.

Featured Webcasts

Leveraging the CERT: A New Coding and Billing Risk Assessment Plan

Leveraging the CERT: A New Coding and Billing Risk Assessment Plan

Frank Cohen shows you how to leverage the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing Program (CERT) to create your own internal coding and billing risk assessment plan, including granular identification of risk areas and prioritizing audit tasks and functions resulting in decreased claim submission errors, reduced risk of audit-related damages, and a smoother, more efficient reimbursement process from Medicare.

April 9, 2024
2024 Observation Services Billing: How to Get It Right

2024 Observation Services Billing: How to Get It Right

Dr. Ronald Hirsch presents an essential “A to Z” review of Observation, including proper use for Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and commercial payers. He addresses the correct use of Observation in medical patients and surgical patients, and how to deal with the billing of unnecessary Observation services, professional fee billing, and more.

March 21, 2024
Top-10 Compliance Risk Areas for Hospitals & Physicians in 2024: Get Ahead of Federal Audit Targets

Top-10 Compliance Risk Areas for Hospitals & Physicians in 2024: Get Ahead of Federal Audit Targets

Explore the top-10 federal audit targets for 2024 in our webcast, “Top-10 Compliance Risk Areas for Hospitals & Physicians in 2024: Get Ahead of Federal Audit Targets,” featuring Certified Compliance Officer Michael G. Calahan, PA, MBA. Gain insights and best practices to proactively address risks, enhance compliance, and ensure financial well-being for your healthcare facility or practice. Join us for a comprehensive guide to successfully navigating the federal audit landscape.

February 22, 2024
Mastering Healthcare Refunds: Navigating Compliance with Confidence

Mastering Healthcare Refunds: Navigating Compliance with Confidence

Join healthcare attorney David Glaser, as he debunks refund myths, clarifies compliance essentials, and empowers healthcare professionals to safeguard facility finances. Uncover the secrets behind when to refund and why it matters. Don’t miss this crucial insight into strategic refund management.

February 29, 2024
2024 ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Clinic Update Webcast Series

2024 ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Clinic Update Webcast Series

HIM coding expert, Kay Piper, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, reviews the guidance and updates coders and CDIs on important information in each of the AHA’s 2024 ICD-10-CM/PCS Quarterly Coding Clinics in easy-to-access on-demand webcasts, available shortly after each official publication.

April 15, 2024

Trending News

Happy National Doctor’s Day! Learn how to get a complimentary webcast on ‘Decoding Social Admissions’ as a token of our heartfelt appreciation! Click here to learn more →

SPRING INTO SAVINGS! Get 21% OFF during our exclusive two-day sale starting 3/21/2024. Use SPRING24 at checkout to claim this offer. Click here to learn more →