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Pulse Oximeter Campaign: Join the Fight for Accurate Pulse Oximeters

Thank you for participating in the Roots Community Health Pulse Oximeter Campaign. Included in this toolkit are sample captions based on specific social media platforms and your participation level in the campaign. These captions are suggested. If you find that you’d like to make tweaks, feel free to use the tone & language that best fit your online persona. The only thing we ask is that the core details (i.e. partner names & site URL) are still included.

Throughout the campaign, we ask that you be intentional about centering the voices, experiences, and stories of Black patients, community workers, volunteers, health organizations and providers.

Please be sure to like and follow Roots Community Health on social media, (@RootsEmpowers) and support the movement by sharing, liking, favoriting, and retweeting all of Roots Community Health Pulse Oximeter content, as well as content from Black-led organizations and efforts on the Pulse Oximeter study and lawsuit.

Images and videos to go along with the captions can be found here.

CONTENT

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ROOTS COMMUNITY
HEALTH MEMBERS

PARTNER
ORGANIZATIONS

HEALTH
PRACTITIONERS

KEY TALKING POINTS

  • Roots Community Health, founded in 2008 in Oakland, California, offers a range of healthcare and complementary services to promote patient self-sufficiency and community empowerment, with a focus on addressing systemic inequities and poverty.
  • In Alameda County, California, where Roots is based, African Americans are dying from COVID at twice the rate of whites. Nationally, recent data indicate the death rate for African Americans is 442 per 100,000 compared to 269 per 100,000 for whites. Higher rates of death exist for other non-white groups as well.
  • Roots partnered with Sutter Health on the study after Roots clinicians wanted to understand why there were such disparities in rates of death among their African American patients.
  • A recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology revealed that pulse oximeters frequently overestimate oxygen levels in African American patients, leading to delayed treatment and reduced hospital admissions for COVID-19.
  • The study, conducted in partnership with Sutter Health, aimed to understand disparities in death rates among African American patients.
  • Widely used in all health care settings and available over-the-counter to consumers nationwide, pulse oximeters measure the amount of oxygen in a person’s blood to signal whether medical intervention is needed to treat people suffering from cardiovascular, other issues and respiratory illnesses including COVID.
  • It was found that first responders and frontline healthcare workers may have relied on inaccurate pulse oximeter readings for patients of color, potentially leading to delays in recommending emergent care.
  • Patients of color who used pulse oximeters at home may have also relied on erroneous readings when deciding whether to seek professional intervention.
  • For Black patients who had oxygen saturation of 92 to 96 percent on pulse oximeters, the actual oxygen saturation was less than 88 percent approximately 11.5 percent of the time. For white patients who had oxygen saturation of 92 to 96 percent on pulse oximeters, the actual oxygen saturation was less than 88 percent only 3.6 percent of the time.
  • Dr. Noha Aboelata, CEO of Roots, pointed out that pulse oximeters often give wrong results for people with darker skin. This has been known for a long time, but it’s become a bigger problem during the pandemic. She said these wrong readings can lead to serious delays in getting the right treatment. It’s really important, she stressed, that everyone gets fair and equal treatment in healthcare.
  • Dr. Aboelata and Roots advocated for changes, urging the FDA to demand better testing and labeling from pulse oximeter manufacturers.
  • Despite FDA warnings and advisory committee recommendations, the issue persists, with companies largely avoiding comment on pending litigation.
  • Roots filed a lawsuit against several manufacturers and distributors of the Pulse Oximeter including Walgreens, CVS, GE Healthcare, Masimo, for selling faulty pulse oximeters in California, alleging bias in readings for people with darker skin tones.
  • The lawsuit seeks either a fix for the devices or warning labels about their limitations.
  • Only one company, NuvoMed, took action by removing its pulse oximeters from the California market and adding warning labels.
  • While pulse oximeters remain essential at Roots, they are viewed with skepticism, and there’s a strong desire for accurate devices suitable for all skin tones.

HASHTAGS

Specific Hashtags
#RootsEmpowers
#RootsCommunityHealth
#PulseOximeter
#FixtheDevice
#PulseOxLawsuit
#PulseOxStudy

Secondary Hashtags
#HealthEquity
#RacialBias
#BlackHealthMatters
#Covid19
#BlackHealthcare
#BayArea
#Oakland

SAMPLE CAPTIONS

Roots Community Health Member:

  1. #IStandwithRoots in notifying and educating my patients and staff about the inaccurate reading of the Pulse Oximeter on darker skinned patients. By initiating conversations and sharing information, we can help bridge this gap in healthcare. It’s time to take action! 

  2. Join me in supporting @rootsempowers to pressure manufacturers and distributors of inaccurate pulse oximeters to either fix their products, remove them from market, or provide adequate warnings and labels to purchasers that their devices can provide unreliable readings for darker skinned persons in real-world conditions. 

  3. With @RootsEmpowers leading the charge, I’m raising our voices for healthcare equality! We won’t stay silent while faulty pulse oximeters endanger lives. It’s time to #fixthedevice! 

  4. Don’t let bias harm patients. Did you know? Pulse oximeters might not be accurate for Black patients. Stand up for better quality healthcare because every patient deserves accurate healthcare tools!

  5. Sick and tired of healthcare disparities, I’m uniting with #RootsCommunityHealth to demand change! No more excuses! Stand up for better quality healthcare because every patient deserves accurate healthcare tools! We won’t accept anything less than accurate pulse oximeters!

  6. Enough is enough! I’m proud to stand with Roots Community Health as we demand accountability from manufacturers. It’s time for pulse oximeters that don’t discriminate!

Partner Organizations:

  1. Join us & @rootsempowers in pressuring manufacturers and distributors of inaccurate pulse oximeters to either fix their products, remove them from market, or provide adequate warnings and labels to purchasers that their devices can provide unreliable readings for darker skinned persons in real-world conditions. 

  2. Your skin tone shouldn’t determine your health outcomes! The fight for equitable healthcare continues, as we @[INSERT YOUR ORG HERE] join @RootsEmpowers to raise awareness about the inaccurate reading of the Pulse Oximeter on darker skinned patients and push for reliable pulse oximeters for clinics serving Black/brown patients. 

  3. Healthcare providers play a crucial role in advocating for patient well-being. Let’s take action to address the issue of pulse oximeter inaccuracies, starting with educating ourselves, our patients, and our colleagues. Together, with @RootsEmpowers, we can make healthcare more equitable for everyone. 

  4. As a proud partner of Roots Community Health, I’m committed to advocating for healthcare equity. @RootsEmpowers is pushing for pulse oximeters that provide accurate readings for all patients after inaccurate readings for Black patients. We won’t accept anything less than accurate pulse oximeters for every patient!

Health Practitioners:

  1. As healthcare professionals, it’s our duty to address disparities in healthcare. Research reveals alarming inaccuracies in pulse oximeter readings for individuals with darker skin, potentially leading to life-threatening consequences, particularly in the context of Covid-19 treatment. @RootsEmpowers is taking bold steps by suing manufacturers and distributors to demand accurate warning labels and device fixes. Let’s educate ourselves, our staff, and patients by demanding corrective measures to safeguard every patient’s well-being.

  2. Your skin tone shouldn’t determine your health outcomes! The fight for equitable healthcare continues, as we @[INSERT YOUR ORG HERE] join @RootsEmpowers to raise awareness about the inaccurate reading of the Pulse Oximeter on darker skinned patients and push for reliable pulse oximeters for clinics serving Black/brown patients. 

  3. With @RootsEmpowers leading the charge, I’m raising our voices for healthcare equality! We won’t stay silent while faulty pulse oximeters endanger lives. It’s time to #fixthedevice! 

  4. Don’t let bias harm patients. Did you know? Pulse oximeters might not be accurate for Black patients. Stand up for better quality healthcare because every patient deserves accurate healthcare tools!

  5. Every patient deserves accurate healthcare tools.That’s why #IstandwithRoots in demanding accountability from pulse oximeter manufacturers. @RootsEmpoers is pushing for pulse oximeters that provide accurate readings for all patients after inaccurate readings for Black patients. Challenge the status quo and work towards a healthcare system that truly serves everyone.

  6. Don’t let bias harm patients. Let’s hold pulse oximeter manufacturers accountable for accurate readings. Roots Community Health is driving change from the front lines of healthcare advocacy! We @[INSERT YOUR ORG HERE] are joining @RootsEmpowers and addressing the systemic issues plaguing pulse oximeters. By leading a powerful campaign to hold manufacturers accountable, we’re demanding accurate healthcare tools that serve all patients equally. Stand up for better quality healthcare because every patient deserves accurate healthcare tools!

  7. As a proud partner of Roots Community Health, I’m committed to advocating for healthcare equity. @RootsEmpowers is pushing for pulse oximeters that provide accurate readings for all patients after inaccurate readings for Black patients. We won’t accept anything less than accurate pulse oximeters for every patient!

  8. Sick and tired of healthcare disparities, I’m uniting with #RootsCommunityHealth to demand change! No more excuses! Stand up for better quality healthcare because every patient deserves accurate healthcare tools! We won’t accept anything less than accurate pulse oximeters!

  9. Enough is enough! I’m proud to stand with Roots Community Health as we demand accountability from manufacturers. It’s time for pulse oximeters that don’t discriminate!