First Black president of Parkland medical staff says he’s only passing the baton

I was born at Parkland Memorial Hospital in 1958. It was one of the only hospitals in Dallas where my mother, an African American, was allowed to be a patient. I was in second grade before my parents received the right to vote. It’s not lost on me how far our society has come in my lifetime.

So, to become the first African American to serve as president of the medical staff at Parkland Health is an honor I receive with humility and great reverence. This election by my peers connects me to a point in time when African Americans and other people of color did not have a voice.

Education has always been a cornerstone in my life. Both my parents were educators, and I believe their passion for lifelong learning and education is what inspired me to pursue a career in medicine. There were others along the way who served as role models of what a physician could look like, including my own family physician, Dr. George Lee Shelton. Dr. Shelton, along with five others, was one of the first Black doctors to integrate the medical staff at St. Paul Hospital, in 1954. As a result of their leadership and determination, I had no doubt that I could achieve my dream of practicing medicine.

To this day, Parkland remains a bridge making it possible for our patients to overcome the social, economic and environmental circumstances they face every day. Even though we’ve overcome many of the obvious social barriers of the ‘50s, other barriers still exist and manifest themselves differently today. These include health care outcome disparities that disproportionately affect Black residents in Dallas County, including increased mortality from heart disease, cancer, stroke and childbirth. Depending on the ZIP code of the neighborhood, there are differences in life expectancies of 10 to 15 years. Black expectant mothers have unmet health care needs. Black women in the United States are at least three times more likely to die due to a pregnancy-related condition when compared to white women.

One of my favorite quotes is from a sermon delivered by the late Rev. William Augustus Jones Jr.: “Where a trumpet is expected, a flute will not suffice.” Culturally conscious health care concerns are “trumpet-worthy” topics. There are many ills that plague our communities today, and they intersect with access to quality health care services. All physicians, especially physicians who serve people from communities of color, should be advocates — trumpeters — for solutions of health care disparities.

At Parkland, we have a deep sense of responsibility to the citizens of Dallas County. It is the foundation of a vibrant countywide health care network that consists of many types of health care delivery entities. Because of our position in this system, we have received unwavering support from the taxpayers of Dallas County. We earn that support every day. For that, I gladly give each of my medical staff members my respect and gratitude. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve our patients and to perhaps inspire the next generation of providers.

To be the first African American to become president of the medical staff at the hospital where I was born certainly is an accomplishment. But this accomplishment is not about me. It just means that I hold a baton for a certain period, and hopefully that motivates a parent or a child themselves, to aspire to whatever they wish to accomplish in life. The most important part of that is not that I’m the first, but I should shoulder the responsibility of not being the last.

James Griffin is chief of anesthesiology services at Parkland Health.

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