ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Protesters made some noise at the University of Rochester Medical Center on Friday, and even made their way to the hospital's main entrance.

What You Need To Know

  • Protesters gathered at the main entranceway doors of UR Med on Friday
  • They called it a protest and accountability march, demanding equity in health care
  • The group lined up near the door peacefully and did not block the entrance, chanting, talking, and sometimes yelling
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“They say they care about the people they are supposed to be protecting and healing in this place, but instead they’re experimenting on them," chanted one protester.

They called it a protest and accountability march, demanding equity in health care. Protesters gathered on Elmwood Avenue. Among them was Joe Prude, the brother of Daniel Prude, who died in police custody after leaving Strong’s ED.

Protesters wanted to make sure they were heard, so they made their way to UR Med's main entryway. Joe Prude was the first and only one to briefly go inside the hospital.

“That’s a 72-hour watch,” he said. “They gave him three hours to live. They gave him three damn hours to live. So you tell me, are you for me or against me? Y’all are against me," Prude said outside the hospital doors.

The group lined up near the door peacefully and did not block the entrance, chanting, talking, and sometimes yelling on a loudspeaker.

Patricia Williams-McGahee says her father died at UR Med after receiving substandard and incompetent care.

“It is not simply because of preexisting conditions that Black people are dying at disproportionate rates, it’s because of preexisting systemic racism,” she said. “Medical institutions like the University of Rochester Strong Hospital, who have exploited Black and brown and other marginalized group bodies for profit, scientific research and outright racist, hateful and sinister purposes.”

A spokesperson from the hospital said URMC recognizes the right of people to publicly protest. He also says we recognize racism as a public health crisis. URMC points out that it does need to improve as a provider of equitable health care. It states that it works with community partners to address health disparities and increase access to care for communities of color as part of the Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan.

Security was on alert during the gathering, but the group left peacefully.