By Stephanie Fraser
Conference Correspondent, Answers Media Network
LinkedIn: Stephanie Fraser
Event: Civitas Networks for Health 2024 Annual Conference
When: October 2024
Where: Detroit MI
State-Wide Social Care in Michigan Keynote
Panel: Garlin Gilchrist II, Lt. Govenor, State of MI
Ninah Sasy, Policy and Planning Director, MI Department of HHS
Dr. Phillip Levy, Professor, Wayne State U. and Director of MI Mobile Health Corps.
At the opening of Civitas 2024 in Detroit, Michigan’s Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II spotlighted the state’s data-driven approach to tackling health inequities for people of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. Michigan has since become a national beacon by effectively and strategically aligning real-time data insights with community health partners to flatten racial disparities in just nine months.
“COVID-19 exposed and deepened the inequities that have long existed in our healthcare system,” said Gilchrist. “But it also gave us an opportunity to face them head-on and change it.”
Gilchrist, joined by Ninah Sasy, Policy and Planning Director at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, outlined how the state’s innovative Racial Disparities Task Force focused on data sharing insights to guide targeted interventions at the local level. The panel emphasized the critical role of trusted community and social care workers in Michigan’s strategy to ensure resources were deployed effectively to the hardest-hit communities.
“Our response to COVID-19 wasn’t just about managing a crisis—it was about reducing longstanding disparities and laying the groundwork for a better, more equitable healthcare system for the future,” said Gilchrist.
Michigan’s response during the pandemic is now serving as a blueprint for other states looking to close health equity gaps, making this a pivotal moment in the national conversation on public health and racial disparities.