Hierarchy, class, race and PPE in an American hospital in the early days of COVID-19: What the pandemic stress test can teach us about building equitable health systems.

Because hospitals are spaces where life and death are routinely at stake, social hierarchies, pressures, and cultural norms are heightened. This was particularly true in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examining the dynamics in that era can provide insight into the nature of race and hierarchy in hospital structures.