Breaking Barriers in the Healthcare System – Kamini Doobay
Kamini Doobay was born and raised in Queens, New York; she along with her sibling grew up in a Hindu Household. During her younger days, she has always found joy in partaking community activites, doing outreaches and helping others. Hence, it is no surprise that she went on to helping people on a higher and better level.
Kamini is an Emergency Medicine resident and the Founder and Coordinator of The NYC Coalition to Dismantle Racism in the Health System. She stated that the goal of the organization is to have a unified voice and a collective way to advocate against inequalities within the healthcare system. Not only does the Organization spread awareness, but they pursue legal action against institutions found guilty of violating the law.
Furthermore, Kamini highlighted that the work they do does not revolve around a specific person or institution due to their need to be impartial in dealing with inequalities. Explaining the entire process, she stated that data, evidence as well as patient narratives are collected from various institutions. Therefore, patients who feel like they have been unfairly treated meets up with the organization and they in turn work within the legal system to provide assistance.
Kamini stated that she hopes the data collected by the coalition can be used to develop policies on a city wide level. Commenting on the many challenges they sometimes face, she indicated that some institutions within the coalition are known competitors; however, it has been her mission to ensure that there is a unified voice and aid in the dismantlement of racism.
In 2014, when the coalition was launched, Kamini along with her organization were responsible for putting out the first and only city wide forum on racism which was cosponsored by the Department of Health, pulling an attendance of over 400. It was from that day forward, various institutions came forward to work on their mission. Extensive work has also been done to eliminate racism as it relates to race and insurance status.
Kamini highlighted that Diwali has always been a special day for her family and it is greatly celebrated in her household. She fondly spoke on lighting and decorating the house with diyas, praying together as a family and going to the mandir, then later getting together with the community.
This ambitious and hardworking individual truly believes that there is light in all human beings. She enjoys listening to her pandit speak on the importance of “light” in the community.
