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BPHC Health Equity Symposium

This one-day symposium envisioned a healthier and more equitable future by building on lessons learned through the COVID-19 pandemic.

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On April 26, 2023, the Boston Public Health Commission hosted a symposium examining challenges, innovations, and key learnings that emerged through COVID-19. The event highlighted collaborations and partnerships that led to interventions, public policy, community, and public-private sector collaborations that address inequities in chronic disease.

The symposium served to:

  • Examine best practices and innovations developed during the COVID-19 pandemic in surveillance, prevention, and community mobilization and partnerships
  • Share and amplify policy-driven equity solutions from leading voices in public health, healthcare delivery, community health, and policy
  • Serve as a powerful convening space for attendee organizations and representatives

Video recordings are available below.

This website and event are supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $5,645,162 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

HES Montage

  • BPHC Logo Color

  • Event Date, Time & Location
    Wednesday April 26, 2023

    8:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Boston Public Library
    Main Branch - Copley Square

    230 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA
  • For more information contact:

    EquityConference@bphc.org

Symposium Information

Program
8:00 - 8:30 AM Registration and Light Breakfast, McKim Exhibition Hall

8:30 - 8:35 AM Welcome, Guastavino Room

Kathryn Hall, PhD, MPH, Boston Public Health Commission

8:35 - 8:45 AM Opening Remarks

Bisola Ojikutu, MD, MPH, FIDSA

Commissioner of Public Health, City of Boston &

Executive Director, Boston Public Health Commission
8:45 - 9:15 AM Session I. Setting the Frame

Discussants:

Mary Travis Bassett, MD, Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard T.H. Chan

Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, Boston University School of Public Health

Bisola Ojikutu, MD, MPH, FIDSA, Boston Public Health Commission 
9:15 - 9:30 AM Community Welcome

Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston
9:30 – 10:30 AM Session II. Mobilizing our Communities 
Moderator: Melissa Hector, MS, MBA, Boston Public Health Commission
Panelists:
Pastor Dieufort Jean "Keke" Fleurissaint, True Alliance Center
LaShyra Nolen, We Got Us
Gladys Vega, La Colaborativa
Dianne Wilkerson, Black Boston COVID Coalition
10:30 - 10:45 AM Break
10:45 – 11:45 AM Session III. Innovations in Data, Surveillance and Prevention 
Moderator: Sarimer Sánchez, MD, MPH, Boston Public Health Commission

Panelists:
Kevin Cranston, MDiv, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
Kathryn Hall, PhD, MPH, Boston Public Health Commission
Elaine Nsoesie, PhD, MS, Race Data Project, Boston University Center for Anti-Racist Research
Lunch 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM, McKim Exhibition Hall and McKim Lower Level
12:30 - 1:00 PM Session IV. "Fireside" Chat: Health Equity and Policy Path Forward 
Kate Walsh, Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services 
Bisola Ojikutu, MD, MPH, FIDSA, Boston Public Health Commission
1:00 - 2:15 PM Session V. Novel Strategies to Advance Health Care Equity and Health Justice
Moderator: Valerie E. Stone, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Panelists:
Charles Anderson, MD, MPH, MBA, The Dimock Center
Joseph Betancourt, MD, The Commonwealth Fund
Thea James, MD, MPH, MBA, Boston Medical Center
Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD, MBA, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
David Williams, PhD, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
2:15 - 3:30 PM Session VI. Policy, Partnerships, and the Future 
Moderator: Paris Alston, WGBH
Panelists:
Bisola Ojikutu, MD MPH, FIDSA, Boston Public Health Commission 
Michael Curry, JD, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Health Equity Compact
Juan Fernando Lopera, Beth Israel Lahey Health
Liz Miranda, Massachusetts State Senator
Elsie Taveras, MD, MPH, Mass General Brigham
3:30 - 3:45 PM  Closing Remarks and Thanks
Bisola Ojikutu, MD, MPH, FIDSA, Boston Public Health Commission
3:45 – 5:00 PM Reception

Video Recordings

Advancing Health Equity: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic Welcome & Opening Remarks

Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health and Executive Director for the Boston Public Health Commission, delivers her opening remarks during the 2023 Advancing Health Equity Symposium

Session 1 - Setting the Frame

Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Dr. Mary T. Bassett, and Dr. Sandro Galea discuss the challenges of advancing health inequity in Boston after the COVID-19 pandemic

Community Welcome from Mayor Michelle Wu

Mayor Michelle Wu welcomes members of the community to this year's Health Equity Symposium

Session 2 - Mobilizing our Communities

Pastor Dieufort Jean "Keke" Fleurissaint of True Alliance Center, Dianne Wilkerson of the Black Boston COVID-19 Coalition, LaShyra Nolen of We Got Us, and Gladys Vega of La Colaborativa discuss how they worked with community members during the pandemic

Session 3 - Innovations in Data and Surveillance

Panelists Kevin Cranston (MA DPH), Dr. Kathryn Hall (BPHC), and Elaine Nsoesie (BU Center for Anti-Racist Research) discuss approaches to disease surveillance that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic

Session 4 - Fireside Chat with Secretary Kate Walsh

Dr. Ojikutu joins EOHHS Secretary Kate Walsh for a discussion about policies to advance health equity

Session 5 - Novel Strategies to Advance Health Care Equity and Justice

Panelists Charles Anderson, Joseph Betancourt, Thea James, David Williams, and Myechia Minter-Jordan discuss the impacts of systemic racism on health inequity

Session 6 - Policy, Partnerships, and the Future

Moderated by GBH's Paris Alston, Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Senator Liz Miranda, Michael Curry, Juan Fernando Lopera, and Dr. Claire Pierre discuss the policy plans in motion to advance health equity in Boston

Symposium Speaker Bios

Speaker Bios

Symposium Planning Committee

Planning Committee

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

HES sponsor logo

  • BPHC Logo Color

  • Event Date, Time & Location
    Wednesday April 26, 2023

    8:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Boston Public Library
    Main Branch - Copley Square

    230 Dartmouth Street, Boston, MA
  • For more information contact:

    EquityConference@bphc.org

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