The coronavirus highlighted the importance of social determinants of health and the health effects of unmet social needs. Join our conference as we explore public health issues, address structural racism, promote health, and health equity. The conference will feature a keynote presentation and breakout discussions that can be applied to current public health challenges.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones. Dr. Bussey-Jones is a Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Emory University’s School of Medicine. She received her BS in Sociology and later her MD from Emory University. She currently serves as the Chief of Grady General Medicine and Geriatrics, the Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine, and the Assistant Dean for Professional Development for Emory at Grady. Dr. Bussey-Jones has nationally recognized educational expertise in the areas of minority health, health equity, as well as patient and provider education. She has developed several program initiatives addressing health promotion and disease prevention for vulnerable populations. She developed and directed a curricula on cultural competence, disparities, and social determinants of health for students, residents and faculty and was recognized with an Educational Innovation Award for this work. She has also chaired the National Disparities Education Task Force for the Society of General Internal Medicine organization and served as editor for a special issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine dedicated to disparities education. In this role, her leadership resulted in an award winning national disparities course, web based educational modules, and two national symposia on disparities at both the Society of General Internal Medicine and at the American Association of Medical Colleges. 

The following breakout sessions will be offered: Nutrition Health, Mental Health Awareness, Financial Literary and Workout Sessions.

WellStart Initiatives is dedicated to the development and implementation of strategies that will decrease health disparities while empowering underserved communities through health education, promotion and advocacy.

Emory's Urban Health Initiative is co-sponsoring the event. Urban Health Initiative provide health disparities education and advocacy, build collaborative partnerships and develop best practice models with low-resourced communities and those who work with them to advance equity in health and well-being.