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St. Louis American See page B1
The
CAC Audited NOVEMBER 18 – 24, 2021
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Dr. Ross honored with endowed professorship
Washington University School of Medicine’s Dr. Will Ross, makes his address on “An American Dilemma: Asserting a Moral Imperative in Our Quest For Health Equity” after being installed as the new Alumni Endowed Professor Of Medicine Thusday, Nov. 11, at the Eric P. Newman Education Center Auditorium.
him…because no one should die alone.” This act of witnessing the violence inflicted upon his community drove Ross towards his future working in public health and health equity, though these things were hardly the buzzwords they are today. Ross became Washington University’s inaugural Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine Thursday, Nov. 11. His family and supporters packed the auditorium to watch him receive this honor and give a speech outlining
his vision for academic health care’s role in advancing health equity. Ross stated that it is impossible to achieve health equity without diverse doctors, but more diverse students will be difficult to pull into the medical field if health equity is not worked towards at the community level. “You cannot do one without the other,” Ross said. “This is all quite visionary, but I
See ROSS, A7
Jones in D.C. for signing of infrastructure bill Missouri to receive $9 billion in federal funding
By Dana Rieck The St. Louis American St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones on Monday joined President Joe Biden in Washington D.C. for the signing of the historic $1.75 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The act is expected to create millions of well-paid union jobs and modernize the country’s infrastructure. Missouri will receive $9 billion of the funding over the course of five years. “While we don’t yet know the specifics on how much money St. Louis is going to get, we’re accessing our current needs and are ready to work with our state and regional partners on the next steps,” she said. “We need to examine not just what our city needs at this very moment, but also what our region
‘Small’ businesses outpace ‘minorityowned’ firms in NGA project spending By Karen Robinson-Jacobs The St. Louis American
Health equity trailblazer delivers public-health vision for providers and patients When Dr. Will Ross was growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, he witnessed the shooting death of a Black teenage boy. Ross, who was a young child at the time, said he wasn’t able to do anything but sit with the boy as he passed away. “I didn’t know what to do,” Ross said. “All I could do was go to him, put my hands on
COMPLIMENTARY
Contractors behind the $1.7B project say minority spending will meet goal later
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
By Sophie Hurwitz The St. Louis American
Vol. 93 No. 34
n “We need to examine not just what our city needs at this very moment, but also what our region will need for decades from now to grow and thrive.” —St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones
will need for decades from now to grow and thrive.” She noted those things could be exploring a north/south Metrolink, other public transit solutions and repairing Lindell Bridge over
See JONES, A7
Photo courtesy of Tishaura Jones
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones poses with Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas in front of the White House on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021.
McCarthy Building Companies and HITT Contracting, the joint venture building the $1.7 billion, under-construction campus of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, recently announced the projn “What that’s say- ect has surpassed its goal of awarding 28% ing is: there are of all subcontracted opportunities that dollars to small busiare wide open for nesses. The news release minorities to step on the project did not up.” mention that two years into the construction – Jason Bortz, project, St. Louisowner of Select GCR based McCarthy and Falls Church, Va.based HITT are about halfway to their voluntary goal of awarding 25% of subcontracting dollars to minority-business enterprises. At least $151.8 million of a roughly $536-million budget for subcontractors has been awarded to firms that meet the federal standard for small
See NGA, A6
Petition drive begins opposing McKee’s disrespect By JoAnn Weaver The St. Louis American U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, former state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed and St. Louis Treasurer Adam Layne have joined a growing list of local elected officials in opposition to the use of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital name on a modest new medical facility. They all also support a petition drive seeking signatures from neighborhood residents who also oppose developer Paul McKee’s insistence on using the Phillips’ name. St. Louis Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed has not replied to numerous requests from The St. Louis American for a comment. The American sought a comment from Bush, but had not received one by press time. Her office confirmed her stance against usage of the name, and her backing of the petition drive. Both Layne and Nasheed attended a recent rally, and were contacted for additional comment which also had not been received at presstime, state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge confirmed. More than 30 elected officials, community activists and residents protested at the unopened
See URGENT CARE, A7