(DECATUR, Ga.)–On Wednesday, October 9, over 600 students, faculty, and guests from the community gathered in Presser Hall for Agnes Scott College’s 5th annual Women’s Global Leadership Conference. This year’s conference brought together leaders and guests to explore critical issues in health equity, public health, and leadership. The conference hosted a wide range of speakers, and featured fireside chats with Dr. Mandy Cohen, Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Dr. Olusimbo Ige, Commissioner at Chicago Department of Public Health.
Our morning started off with a fireside chat with Dr. Mandy Cohen, who is the Director for the CDC and Rose Scott, journalist at WABE. Dr. Cohen discussed her work at the CDC and highlighted the numerous opportunities in public health within the public sector. Although the CDC is based here in the United States, she mentioned that “the most cost effective way to stop infectious diseases is to have global offices to stop the spread before it gets to our borders.” Going back to the idea of inclusivity within public health, Dr. Cohen stressed that decisions affect every community. There are many programs that the CDC has in place to help communities worldwide. Dr. Cohen talked about how the CDC is trying to “eradicate polio off of the face of the Earth,” which is no small task, and to do that, she mentioned how they have to build a foundation for public health. This includes securing top-quality labs and data, hiring talented staff, and fostering accountability and self-critique. During the Q&A session, an audience member pressed Dr. Cohen about the CDC’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and commented on the failure of the CDC to keep Americans safe. Dr. Cohen agreed that improving communication to the public is a priority for the CDC moving forward. Scott chimed in, saying that we as consumers of media have an obligation to credible sources.
The next panel was on the topic of “Culturally-Responsive and Person-Centred Care” with Dr. Paula Bloom, Dr. Tawana Ware, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, and Dr. Jennifer Sciubba, moderated by Chris Clark. When asked “how do you define person-centered care?,” all the panelists provided different answers, but focused on the fact that you have to see the patient as an individual rather than just another client. Dr. Montgomery Rice mentioned that “healthcare delivery is a team sport, and it forces you to focus on the chief complaint,” while Dr. Sciubba said that you have to focus on “the delivery, not the experience of care.” Dr. Bloom gave a different perspective, stating that person-centered care is good for both the clinician and the patient, as it can reduce burnout due to “depersonalization and callousness” in the clinician. Chris Clark, President and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, stressed the importance of healthcare for economic development. High-quality, culturally-responsive and person-centered healthcare is of utmost importance, especially here in Georgia, where 9 countries have no physicians, 65 have no paediatrician, 82 have no OB-GYN, and 90 have no psychiatric or mental health providers. Dr. Ware emphasized the importance of patient-centred care and inclusive language, noting that partnership with the community is essential for positive outcomes.
After a lunch break, we continued with the afternoon panels. First was “Strategic Approaches to Health Equity” with Dr. Tracey Veal, Dr. Chevon Brooks, Dr. Mary (Afekwo) Ukuku, and Dr. Marcus Briggs-Cloud, moderated by Dr. Erin Bradley. All of the panelists came from different backgrounds in healthcare–academia, healthcare organizations, campus medical director, and with indigenous communities–but all shared common values in their work. The panelists shared a strong passion for social determinants of health and the impact it has on the health of a community.. Dr. Veal explained that social determinants of healthcare factors that shape one’s health and allow physicians and other medical professionals to look at people holistically. In Dr. Veal’s electronic medical system, the records will “not go forward until you assess social determinants of health,” which ensures that medical professionals are aware and taking into account factors such as socioeconomic status, education, environment, and access to resources when making a diagnosis and recommending treatment plans. Dr. Ukuku talked about how technology and data can be used to create health equity by screening a person for certain social determinants of health. Dr. Brooks, who worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, helped revitalize the efficacy of her health system. Similarly to Dr. Ukuku, Dr. Brooks also embedded her screening of social determinants of health into the system and patient’s medical records. One of the main questions that she had to answer when doing this was “What does the community need?.” The panelists all emphasize that innovation in the social determinants of health is paramount, as many people worry about their basic needs before their healthcare, which arguably are equally important.
Our second-to-last session of the day was “Envisioning a Healthier World, At Home and Abroad” with Dr. Donna Hubbard McCree, Dr. Helene D. Gayle, and Dr. Rebecca Martin, moderated by Jason Carter. One main idea that the three panelists discussed was the importance of camaraderie and community as part of solutions for global health. Dr. Martin talked about her work in polio eradication with the CDC and how her solutions “had to be tailored to each community.” Dr. Hubbard McCree mentioned that a key part of public health is to build trust with communities, and then develop community organizations, because even if “we come down with all of our knowledge and fancy organizations behind us,” the people are going to listen to those on the ground and help them accomplish the things they do. All the panelists touched on the theme of being able to reach across the other side–economically, politically, and culturally–and the main takeaway from that was to “understand communities, recognize how important it is to value their cultures, understand that every community has its infrastructure, it has its leaders and gatekeepers and all those other things, and if you’re not really thinking about those gatekeepers and those leaders, you’re not gonna be successful.”
For the final session Agnes Scott’s President Lee Zak joined Dr. Olusimbo Ige, Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health to talk about her work in public health and how she approaches community health and equity. One of Dr. Ige’s jobs was with the United States Agency for International Development working with governments in Sub-Saharan Africa to help design their public health programmes. She mentioned how her work in over 40 countries has helped in her job, aas there will always “be a little more to learn from someone else or from something else”. Dr. Ige approaches her work by asking herself “what is the biggest challenge we have in Chicago?,” and found that the life expectancy gap in Chicago for those who are black is double that of the rest of the country. Although Chicago has some of the brightest minds and healthcare systems in the world, the gap keeps widening. Due to Chicago’s large migrant population, she has had to work with people from various backgrounds and work to integrate them into Chicago by gaining their trust. What Dr. Ige emphasized the most was the importance of diversity. She joked that politicians have a different language, and learning that was difficult for her. Dr. Ige also mentioned that she had to learn about the histories of capitalism, how decisions are made, and the history of our communities. This is especially important when working in public health, and when decisions made impact millions, saying “what resonates with Black people and Latino people and white people” is not the same.
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