A local faith-based health council whose goal is to improve health in Chattanooga’s underserved communities will resume activities this month under a new name honoring late advocate and founding member Chris Ramsey.
The council formed in January 2019 with the idea to leverage the area’s strength as a churchgoing city to stamp out health disparities through collaboration, sharing best practices, education, developing community initiatives and programs, and conducting an annual health and wellness symposium.
At the time, Black Hamilton County residents were dying from diabetes at a rate 2.7 times higher than that of white people, heart disease at 1.2 times higher, and kidney disease at 3.6 times higher. Not only do those disparities remain today, but those same conditions greatly increase one’s risk of dying due to COVID-19.
Ramsey said during the first council meeting that he was “tired of looking at these same numbers” because the statistics weren’t improving. The idea to form the council wasn’t about who gets credit, but about addressing the needs of the community, he said.
“We’ve got medical professionals, we’ve got nurses — grab another person and bring them alongside you — y’all can see the spiritual gifts that we have right here in this room,” he said at the time. “My prayer is that we break down these silos.”
Ramsey died in January 2021 due to complications from COVID-19. He was 54 years old.
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