The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the chronic underfunding of the U.S. public health system and has engendered violent threats and politically motivated attacks on officials and institutions, jeopardizing the safety of public health workers and the foundation of public health systems nationwide. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) hosted a discussion on how these unrelenting attacks have undermined the U.S. response to COVID-19 and threaten future preparedness.
The conversation was moderated by Anna Maria Barry-Jester, MPH, senior correspondent with Kaiser Health News, focusing on health disparities and public health.
Featured panelists:
- Jennifer Bacani McKenney, MD, FAAP is the health officer for Wilson County and Fredonia city in southeast Kansas. She is physician owner of the Bacani/McKenney Clinic and associate dean of the Office of Rural Medical Education at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
- Geoffrey Mwaungulu Jr., JD, MPH is director of public health law and policy at the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
- Nichole Quick, MD, MPH is chief medical officer of KSC Health Center, focusing on the integration of behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, and primary care.