News & Events

Events

Fellows and Scholars Selected for Nationwide Summer Externships

May 13, 2014–Eight Health Policy Fellows and Scholars were chosen to participate in summer externships at some of the nation’s top health policy organizations and intuitions. Over the course of eight weeks, these students will gain real-world research skills and will have the opportunity to see health policy in action. Cheryl Onwu, Ballington Kinlock, Kanetha Wilson and Erika Leslie will spend their summer in Baltimore at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Disparities Solutions, led by the Center’s National Advisory Board Chair Thomas A. LaVeist, Ph.D. Timothy Guinn and Kelly Harris will be located in Bethesda, Md., at the National Institutes of Health. Rachel Cooper will be an extern at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Damien Cuffie will serve at the RWJF Center for Health Policy at Meharry Medical College.

Scholars Blog for National Minority Health Month

May 13, 2014–The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) hosted a blog series on its Human Capital Blog in celebration of National Minority Health Month held every April. Four of our very own Health Policy Scholars participated in this blog series: Italo Brown, Cheryl Onwu, Jamar Slocum and Adrian Ware. To mark the occasion, the Human Capital Blog asked several RWJF scholars to respond to the following questions about improving health care for all:

  • What does the country need to do to address disparities and build a culture of health that includes all people?
  • What are the challenges, needs, or opportunities for health systems to effectively serve minority communities?
  • Minority health is advanced by combating disparities and promoting diversity. How do these two goals overlap?

Read their responses below.

Italo BrownHow Can Health Systems Effectively Serve Minority Communities? Shift the Cost-Access-Quality Axis.

Cheryl OnwuHow Can Health Systems Effectively Serve Minority Communities? Improve Medical Literacy, Take a Holistic Approach.

Jamar SlocumHow to Address Disparities? Educate, Engage Young Professionals in This Work.

Adrian WareHow Can Health Systems Effectively Serve Minority Communities? There are Endless Opportunities.

Graduating Scholars Match into Residency Programs on National Match Day

May 13, 2014–Congratulations to three of the Center for Health Policy’s graduating Scholars whose journey to becoming a physician became one step shorter. On May 17, 2014, fourth-year medical students Cheryl Chun, Letitia Lyons, and Roxanne Rich will graduate with a Doctor of Medicine degree and move on to residency programs across the country. Chun will enter a pediatric residency program at Children’s National in Washington, D.C., specializing in their Community Health Track, which integrates health policy and public health into treating underserved patients. Lyons will do her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas. Rich will relocate to Indianapolis, Ind. to enter the pediatric residency program at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Heath Policy Scholar Receives Top Honors

November 12, 2013 – November has proven to be a great month for Health Policy Scholar Italo Brown, MPH. The third-year medical student has been busy racking up awards from organizations such as the American Public Health Association (APHA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and the American Medical Student Association (AMSA). Brown was selected as one of five honorable mentions for the 2013 Student Health Activist Award presented at the APHA Annual Meeting, Nov 2-6 in Boston. This award recognizes a student who has demonstrated passion and achievement in the pursuit of social justice and health equity. He was nominated for advocacy and activism in support of Medicaid expansion, childhood obesity legislation and access to health care services for uninsured Tennesseans.

Thomas LaVeist Elected to the Institute of Medicine

The RWJF Center for Health Policy congratulates its National Advisory Board Chairman, Thomas A. LaVeist, PhD, on being elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences. Election to the IOM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. In addition to serving as board chairman and visiting professor at the Center, LaVeist is the William C. and Nancy F. Richardson Professor in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and founding director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions. LaVeist’s research focuses on understanding health disparities, such as the racial health gap in infant mortality rates, as well as the impact of socio-economic status on health outcomes.

Health Policy Scholar Reflects on National Match Day Residency Decision

Lamercie Saint-Hilaire is a graduating RWJF Health Policy Scholar, who will receive a Doctor of Medicine degree and Certificate in Health Policy on May 18th during the 138th Commencement Exercises. During National Match Day-held March 15 of this year-Saint-Hilaire learned that she matched in Family Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, the number one ranked residency program in family medicine. Saint-Hilaire, along with 88 Meharry medical school seniors, anxiously awaited the announcement as part of an annual tradition when fourth-year medical students across the country learn where they will live and train as medical residents.

NAB Member Publishes OP-ED in the Washington Post

April 30, 2013 – Senator William H. Frist, MD, a member of the Center’s National Advisory Board and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, recently published an op-ed in the Washington Post on the release of the bipartisan report related to increasing value and controlling healthcare costs. The article, titled “How to build a better health-care system,” uniquely brings together policy and budget communities.

Click here to read the article.

Heath Policy Associate Featured in USA Today

March 8, 2013Health Policy Associate Manish K. Sethi, M.D., was featured in a USA Today article published this week for his 2012 study on gun violence. The article is part of “Gunfight in America,” about America’s ongoing debate on gun control. Dr. Sethi has garnered national attention for his pilot project study, sponsored by the RWJF Center for Health Policy, and has been featured by The Tennessean, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Dr. Sethi is a trauma surgeon at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and co-director of the Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute Center for Health Policy.