April 7th is #WorldHealthDay, a global campaign that advocates building a fairer and healthier world, where people have living and work conditions that are conducive to everyone, everywhere. In acknowledgement of the importance and the significance of today, we celebrate the amazing work of alum LaShawn Worsley-McIver, M.D., MPH (‘04), a public health leader with experience in driving successful initiatives and programs that promote health equity and access to healthcare for minority and under-served populations.
Dr. Worsley-McIver is the Director of the Office of Minority Health at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which provides healthcare to over 130 million Americans every year. After graduating from MSIH, she went on to earn a Master’s Degree in public health at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her community-based course work and experiences as a program director for the Baltimore City Health Department inspired her to advocate for health equity among diverse patient populations, and she later completed a health policy fellowship focusing on the impact of HIV and AIDS on African-Americans at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Center for Policy Analysis and Research.
Previously, Dr. Worsley-McIver led Government Affairs & Advocacy (GA&A) efforts at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as its Vice President of Public Policy & Strategic Alliances and later as its Senior Vice President of all GA&A. Furthermore, she is a recognized spokesperson and thought leader on health disparities, healthcare reform, and diabetes advocacy issues, having appeared on global media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NBC, NPR, and Al Jazeera. Dr. Worsley-McIver is a frequent presenter before Members of Congress, public health and health care leaders, advocates and students.
World Health Day has brought to light important health issues such as mental health, maternal and child care, and climate change (WHO). With the impact that COVID-19 has had, particularly on minority populations, it is even more important to address these issues on a global scale.
For the second year, Ben-Gurion University is offering an online summer program in Global Health that will address many of the topics from leaders in the field. Interested in learning more? Apply here.
#WorldHealthDay #MSIH #MSIHalum #Health #publichealth #minorityhealth #HealthcareIsaRight
