IPE Day 2021

Executive Director of Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine, Health Policy Expert & Author

Daniel E. Dawes is a nationally respected healthcare and public health leader, policy expert, administrator and author who has been at the forefront of recent major federal health policy negotiations in the United States. A thought leader in health policy, his work focuses on health reform, health equity, mental/behavioral health, social and political determinants of health, poverty, and health system transformation. His work bridges research, technology, healthcare, population health and public health – the translation of research discoveries into all communities, including under-resourced, vulnerable and marginalized communities.

Dawes is Morehouse School of Medicine’s Executive Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute. In this role, Dawes champions health policy strategies focusing on social and political determinants of health to advance MSM’s health equity vision. He will also bring a forward-thinking, inclusive, and multidisciplinary approach to address issues impacting diverse populations in urban and rural communities in our progressively complex health system. Dawes currently leads several major health equity projects in the United States, including several intended to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on communities of color such as the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) $40 million, to establish a national COVID-19 resiliency network (NCRN), as well as a project with Google.org, CDC Foundation and Gilead Sciences to create the nation’s first health equity tracker.

A published expert on health reform, health equity, health disparities, behavioral health, and social determinants of health, Dawes is the author of two groundbreaking books published by Johns Hopkins University Press: 150 Years of Obamacare and The Political Determinants of Health, which have received critical acclaim and endorsements from a bipartisan group of leaders, including Ambassador Andrew Young, Congressman Patrick Kennedy, U.S. Secretaries of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and Louis Sullivan, Deputy Assistant Secretary Garth Graham, as well as Surgeons General David Satcher and Regina Benjamin. His newest book, The Political Determinants of Health, answers the question, “How do policy and politics influence the structural conditions that generate health outcomes?” Dawes argues that political determinants of health create the social drivers―including poor environmental conditions, inadequate transportation, unsafe neighborhoods, and lack of healthy food options―that affect all other dynamics of health.

Among his many achievements, he was an instrumental figure in shaping the Mental Health Parity Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, the Affordable Care Act, and other federal policies. Dawes has keynoted over 200 conferences, symposia, conventions, seminars, retreats and meetings, and has served as a distinguished guest lecturer at Harvard University, the University of Chicago, Yale University, University of Texas, University of Arizona, Georgetown University, and Saint Louis University.

Highly respected for his ability to achieve sound policy changes in a nonpartisan manner; Daniel serves on several boards, commissions and councils focused on improving health outcomes and elevating health equity in the United States and around the world, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Federal Advisory Committee on Health Disparities, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights - Health and Human Rights Institute Advisory Committee, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Policies for Action National Advisory Committee, the National Football League/National Football League Players Association’s National Committee on the Racial Disparities of COVID-19, the National Medical Fellowships Primary Care Leadership Program’s National Advisory Committee, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health National Advisory Council, the Healthcare Georgia Foundation Board of Directors, the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities Board of Directors, the National League of Cities National Advisory Board, the New York Academy of Medicine, the CDC Foundation’s Community COVID Coalition Advisory Group, and the Children’s Mental Health Network National Advisory Council. focused on health equity and health reform. He is an advisor to international, national, regional, state, and municipal policymakers as well as think tanks, foundations, corporations, and nonprofit organizations. A real partner when planning your event, Dawes presents a multidisciplinary framework for addressing the systemic barriers that prevent the U.S. from becoming what it could be: the healthiest nation in the world.

Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH currently serves as the Chief HealthEquity Officer and Group Vice President for the American Medical Association (AMA) where she focuses on embedding health equity across all the work of the AMA and leading the Center for HealthEquity. She joined the AMA in April 2019, to launch AMA’s Center for Health Equity as their inaugural Chief Health Equity Officer. Prior to joining the AMA, Dr. Maybank served as the Founding Deputy Commissioner for the Center for Health Equity at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (2014). Aimed at strengthening equity efforts and transforming organizational culture, the Center became a model of success recognized by NYC leadership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. She was instrumental in infusing equity at the neighborhood level and advancing the Department’s place-based approach to addressing health inequities. She also set precedence with groundbreaking work at the Office of Minority Health in the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (2006) while serving as the Founding Director.

Dr. Maybank has taught medical and public health students on topics related to health inequities, public health leadership and management, physician advocacy, and community organizing in health. In 2012, along with a group of Black woman physician leaders, Dr. Maybank co-founded "We Are Doc McStuffins", a movement inspired by the Disney Junior character Doc McStuffins serving to shine a light on the critical importance of diversity in medicine.

She is a highly sought-after health expert in media appearing on national and influential media outlets such as NPR, MSNBC, NewsOne, Roland Martin, the Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association to name a few. More recently, due to her leadership in the COVID response efforts, she has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and authored the New York Times Op- ed, “The Pandemic’s Missing Data” to bring more awareness to the structural inequities in the United States. She moderates the AMA bi-weekly web series, "Prioritizing Equity” that elevates the voices and stories of physicians centering equity in COVID-19 response efforts.

Dr. Maybank holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University, a MD from Temple University School of Medicine, and a MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is a pediatrician and preventive medicine/public health physician.

Are you interested in working collaboratively with other health professions students to advocate for change at individual, organizational, community, national, and global levels of influence? Healthcare professionals play critical roles in the advocacy process by identifying issues, researching solutions, developing advocacy goals, mobilizing stakeholders, building coalitions, and lobbying. Hear from students and faculty who have been part of advocacy efforts (e.g., gun violence, DACA, racial justice) about their experiences, lessons learned, and hopes for the future. Participants will have an opportunity to meet other health professions students who are passionate about similar issues, reflect on personal experiences, and co-create collaborative opportunities to advocacy for healthcare change.

This workshop will illustrate the role of the Interprofessional Medical ICU team in managing critically ill patients during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. A case presentation will provide insight into the many factors and considerations that influence the provision of care during this unprecedented time. Discussion will highlight the difficult clinical, physical, emotional, and ethical challenges and decisions faced by TEAM ICU.

This workshop evolves from the case of a frail, homebound, geriatric patient with complex comorbidities, unable to access traditional community-based services, and impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The interprofessional faculty facilitates exploration of the psychosocial, nursing, oral health, medical, rehabilitation, nutritional, spiritual, neuropsychiatric and public health issues raised in this case. Students participate in shared learning and problem-solving small group breakout sessions. The emphasis centers on the role of teamwork, understanding and use of community and clinical resources, treatment planning, improvement in quality of life, and the challenges in the delivery of care in the home.

COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in underprivileged communities. Food insecurity has long plagued these same communities and the situation has been worsened by this pandemic. Ensuring food security in these neighborhoods is essential in achieving health equity in these communities and in providing appropriate clinical care.

This workshop unites the Chief Medical Director of Riker's Island Prison, a Mailman School of Public Health faculty member and principal of the Bard College Prison Project, and a current student in Mailman's MPH program who was incarcerated at the Fishkill Prison for 20 years and completed his Bachelor of Arts while in prison. He directed the Prisoner, AIDS, Counseling, and Education program for other prisoners during his time in prison. Together, the panelists will present their inside views of the impact of prison on health and the racial divides that intensify damages for persons of color, especially during the COVID pandemic. Prison exacts massive damage on prisoners' health by virtue of the abysmal quality of prison health care and the inadequacy of follow-up health attention after release in ordinary times, and COVID's low tide has revealed the unacceptable risks to health of prisoners.

“People with disabilities experience healthcare disparities including lower rates of screening and more difficulty accessing services compared to people without disabilities.” (Lezonni, 2011) This workshop will address interprofessional family-centered collaboration in order to improve the delivery of comprehensive care for patients with disabilities. Participants will discuss the case of an adolescent diagnosed with bilateral cerebral palsy (BCP) experiencing challenges with oral hygiene and accessibility for healthcare visits. Barriers to care will be explored and discussed with an interprofessional panel in order to build capacity for policy discussions and advocacy efforts for people with disabilities. The workshop will be interactive, including breakout small group discussions with peers from the CUIMC campus.

Using the film “For Sama” as a jumping off point, this workshop will provide an opportunity for students to reflect on the experience of forced migration, the needs of individuals and families arriving in the US to escape physical, emotional, or economic suffering, and the role of interprofessional teams in understanding and addressing their many needs.

In the past year, the world has been grieving the many losses associated with COVID-19. The millions of deaths - of family, friends, co-workers & patients - have been among the most painful. Unemployment, isolation, and missed milestones are just a few of many others. Long before this pandemic and long after it, the world will be filled with many other losses. In this workshop five people talk about their work with people in diverse situations and settings, facing different losses and expressing grief in different ways. We’ll leave with open eyes and better able to help others and ourselves.