How the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the conversation around public health and underserved communities

In this episode of the MGMA Insights podcast, we’re joined by Suzet McKinney, DrPH, MPH, CEO and executive director, Illinois Medical District, for a discussion on public health, underserved and vulnerable populations, social determinants of health,

and how they all tie into COVID-19 and the country’s current civil unrest. McKinney is the only female Black CEO of a major medical district in the United States, an adjunct instructor at Harvard’s School of Public Health and an author, as well as a strategic resource for the State of Illinois’ COVID-19 efforts. 

“It’s COVID today, but a year from now or even five years from now, it’ll be something else if we don’t begin to address these issues [public health disparities] and address them both intentionally and effectively,” she said. 

Here are other highlights from McKinney’s podcast interview:

• (14:12) “We need to understand that this is a disease, and diseases do not know geographical boundaries. Diseases do not know political affiliations, and diseases do not know policy decisions.”
• (21:10) “It’s just reached a point where I believe people are saying, ‘Enough is enough. When are we as a country going to come together and do better?’”
• (22:22) “I have a colleague, friend and mentor who often lectures about diversity, inclusion and equity. The way she explains it is so simple, but so profound. What she says is diversity is being asked to the dance, to come to the dance. Inclusion is being asked to dance. But equity is being allowed to select the music. … I think as a society, our intentionality has to be inclusive.”

Additional resources:

• MGMA COVID-19 Recovery Center
• MGMA Member Community
• COVID-19 in Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups
• Latino, Black neighborhoods struggle with test disparities
• Blaming the COVID-19 Messengers: Public Health Officials Under Siege

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MGMA Insights is presented by Decklan McGee, Rob Ketcham and Daniel Williams.

Thanks to CareCredit for sponsoring this episode. 

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