Thea James, MD, is Vice President of Mission and Associate Chief Medical Officer at Boston Medical Center (BMC). Thea works with caregivers throughout the medical center and coordinates BMC’s partnerships with a wide range of local, state and national organizations including community agencies, housing advocates, and others that partner with BMC to meet the full spectrum of patients’ needs. The goal of this work is to foster innovative and effective new models of care that are essential for patients and communities to thrive.
In October 2020, Thea joined Compass’ Board of Directors. We connected recently with Thea to talk more about her work, what drew her to Compass, and what she is hoping to contribute during her time on the Board.
Compass: How did you first learn about Compass?
Thea: I was introduced to Sherry, Compass’ Founder and CEO, by my friend, and Compass’ founding Board member, Greg Shell. But I feel like I had vaguely heard about Compass some time ago. My whole thing is wealth building and economic mobility – it’s at the root of what enables people to thrive or not, what we refer to in my field as a social determinant of health. So, in a way, I feel like I had been waiting for an organization like Compass to come along.
Compass: Can you say a little more about this passion you have, as a physician, for wealth building and economic mobility?
Thea: So the analogy I like to use is this: imagine walking by a river and seeing people floating downstream, nearly drowning. Your first instinct would be to pull them to safety, which makes sense – like what we do in the emergency room. But eventually you have to wonder what’s happening upstream, to cause these people to fall into the water in the first place. And what I have seen time and again in my career is this link between health crises and economic insecurity. The bottom line is money: if you have wealth and financial stability, the other things tend to get taken care of. You can weather crises, including what we’re seeing now with COVID.
Compass: It’s one thing to support an organization like Compass, but a bigger step to join the Board of Directors, as you recently did. What made you want to get involved with the organization in that way?
Thea (center) was part of an opening panel conversation on the connections between health and wealth at Compass’ 2020 National Conference, along with Peggy Bailey (right) of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and moderated by Maggie Moore (left).
Thea: Compass is a diamond in the rough. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that what Compass does should be the status quo. I’ve never been a person who had a life plan, the “I’m going to do this in five years, and this in ten years” kind of thing. It’s always been about following my passion and doing what makes sense. What makes sense to me is always what’s the best thing you can do to change an existing situation. I don’t believe in half-steps or band-aids. Compass can set a model for the nation, so of course I wanted to be a part of that.
Compass: What are you hoping to contribute during your time on the Board?
Thea: I think Compass is underrated, honestly, because it’s not widely known. I think I can help Compass to be the norm, to be the status quo. I want Compass to be what is the expectation, the requirement – that supporting people to build wealth is a standard part of how we do anti-poverty work, and not something extra. Hopefully the powers that be will get that message. And, I think there is more we can do to connect what Compass does more directly with healthcare in the city – exploring how to get Compass on the BMC campus, what it could mean for families to embed Compass’ services in our health centers.
Compass: When you think about the time that we are all living through right now, what is it that you see that Compass has to offer?
Thea: Compass is a vaccine. Assets, financial security are what protect you from being crushed under COVID. When you think about the people who have been at greatest risk – people with low incomes, people of color – it’s people without the protective factors of financial stability. And, I think we have to remember, that people who have been most impacted by COVID have been put in that bind by structures that were created with great intentionality.
As am emergency medicine physician I know very well what drives perpetual cycles of unstable health and predictable poor health outcomes. There is no shortage of medical literature about the correlations between lower income, lower education attainment, and low health status - even lower life expectancy. When people have limited resources they cannot prioritize health. Their first priorities for allocating their limited resources are rent, food, utilities - surviving, not even thriving. The intentionality of subsidies that penalize people for trying to move ahead and achieve financial well-being seems unfair and nonsensical. If people are presented with opportunities to be self-sufficient and financially independent they will seize them. Sometimes it requires reassuring them that it is possible to alter the quality of their life course trajectory. I’ve had experience engaging people with these opportunities, and can see that Compass gives people an opportunity to be their full selves, to change the quality of their life course trajectory.