How social determinants of health are affecting under-served populations in our community, from the experts

EPISODE #42 | 9:30 AM Monday, March 8, 2021

Health equity: how one hospital is creating high quality, equitable, & affordable healthcare for vulnerable populations

Guest: Dr. Kimberly Butler Willis, Roper St. Francis Community Health Director

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Join popular WJNI radio host Terry Base, The Medi's Garcia Williams, and Kimberly Butler Willis, PhD, CHES, CDP, director of community health at Roper St. Francis Healthcare in Charleston, SC, for a conversation about the social determinants of health!

Health equity is central to the mission of Roper St. Francis, and led by Dr. Butler Willis, its new Office of Community Health has brought together five community-based departments to cultivate partnerships with key organizations that address the social determinants of health in order to create pathways to high-quality, equitable, and affordable healthcare for vulnerable populations. Listen in below as Dr. Butler Willis shares more about this renewed commitment to health equity and how COVID-19 has amplified this priority.

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As director of community health at Roper St. Francis, Dr. Butler Willis is responsible for the daily management of the hospital system's only comprehensive sexual health center, and provides oversight for its community outreach initiatives, two senior centers, community-based health clinic, and the region's AccessHealth program. She works with a multidisciplinary heath team of 50+ healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive care for the region's most vulnerable and underserved.

She received her bachelor of science degree in exercise science and both a master of public health degree and PhD in health promotion, education and behavior from the University of South Carolina at Columbia. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and has coordinated and managed sexual health and community health initiatives for more than 15 years within local nonprofits and large healthcare systems. HIV and sexual healthcare continue to be two of her passions. Since joining the Ryan White Wellness Center at Roper St. Francis, her team has been nationally recognized by the Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau in 2016, 2017, and 2018 for its high-quality care, patient-centered healthcare strategies, and noteworthy strategic planning and federal spending.

Dr. Butler Willis also remains active in community service initiatives and groups that support health and education. She is a member of the City of Charleston's Commission on Equity, Inclusion and Racial Conciliation, the Charleston County School District's Health Advisory Committee, and Board Treasurer for the South Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Health Service Executives. She is a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society (Mu Chapter, University of South Carolina) and an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Her professional and academic achievements were recognized by the South Carolina Black Pages 20 Under 40 in 2018.

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Tune in every Monday morning to WJNI 106.3 FM or https://onlineradiobox.com/us/wjni/ for a new, local conversation about the social determinants of health and how they're affecting under-served populations, with information and experts that can't be found anywhere else. Past episodes of MEDI MONDAYS: The Social Determinants of Health, as well as 2020'S MEDI MONDAYS: The Coronavirus Edition can also be found here.