A new Black-owned medical facility is set to address systemic racism issues that continue to affect Tulsa, OK.
According to Fox-23 News, NovaStar Express Care officially opened its doors Tuesday morning (Nov. 14, 2023).
Per the outlet, residents within the community are hopeful that it will shed light on the lack of immediate health care available in the area since the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
As previously reported by AFROTECH, the area once dubbed the Black Wall Street due to its self-sustaining Black community was destroyed by a racist mob that not only left hundreds of Black citizens dead but many Black-owned establishments burned to the ground.
In recent years, various initiatives have been put in place to restore the once-exuberant community. However, there are still many areas that continue to be affected by the racist attack.
For NovaStar owner Natalie Jones, the company is an extension of her current medical practice, NovaStar Family Medicine.
What’s more, its No. 1 priority is to ensure that the North Tulsa community has adequate access to health care beyond just primary care.
Jones explained, “It’s unfortunate, the life expectancy is 14 years less in north Tulsa than in other areas of Tulsa, and that is probably because there’s not enough medical care for everyone that needs care, so my goal is to bridge the gap and to get one community member, one family member at a time on their journey to health, so we can be a healthy community in north Tulsa just because where you live should not dictate how long you live.”
Not only will NovaStar be available to the public seven days a week but it currently has a program in place to assist patients without access to health insurance.
Per the outlet, there is an option to sign up for a membership at the facility, which will allow people to pay $33 in total for three visits.
