02/17/2020
Meet our two panelists for our event on the medical debt crisis in the United States! The panel is on Tuesday, February 25th from 6-8PM, in Kimmel 803.
Dr. Kamillah Wood currently serves as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer at the Children’s Health Fund (CHF) in New York City. In this role, she oversees all programmatic and strategic initiatives for the organization, including CHF’s policy and advocacy work.
A practicing community pediatrician, Dr. Wood joined CHF from Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) where she served as Senior Vice President. In this capacity, Dr. Wood became a nationally renowned policy expert on the intersection of health and housing. By using “housing as a platform” to increase health equity and improve outcomes for SAHF’s residents, she facilitated partnerships with the health sector and informed policymakers on critical issues on the intersection of health and housing. In doing so, Dr. Wood elevated the understanding that a safe and stable home is a key social determinant of health.
Dr. Wood brings a diverse experience in clinical practice, public health, and public policy to her role at CHF. Prior to SAHF, she was appointed as Special Policy Advisor and White House Fellow to Secretary Anthony Foxx at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). Here Dr. Wood advised senior officials on the intersection of health and transportation, as well as economic mobility and equity. She was the USDOT lead on an interagency initiative to promote socioeconomic integration in communities with the Department of Education and
Department of Housing and Urban Development; and served as the agency representative to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Dr. Wood was previously part of the CHF Network while serving as the Associate Medical Director of Mobile Health Programs at Children’s National Health System. In addition to managing the operations of the health center and mobile programs, she also led asthma quality improvement initiatives through the IMPACT DC program; started a civic engagement program for patients and families; and instructed pediatric residents and students as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine
and Health Sciences.
Dr. Wood completed her residency and was a chief resident at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; received her Medical Degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Master in Public Health from Harvard University School of Public Health as a Commonwealth Fund Mongan Fellow in Minority Health Policy; and her Bachelors in Science degree from Howard University.
Jerry Ashton
In just five years of its existence, RIP Medical Debt has purchased and forgiven $1 Billion in unpaid and unpayable hospital bills.
Jerry Ashton, a co-founder of that charity, comes from the very industry – debt collections – that in its relentless pursuit of medical bills has caused people to declare personal bankruptcy, lose their homes and sometimes choose between putting food on the table or paying those bills.
Jerry will address the impact of unpayable medical debt on the less fortunate, those in hardship and those who face personal bankruptcy and society at large. How does one deal with the broken healthcare system which creates it? What do you do when the bill collector calls? More importantly, exactly what role should students and faculty have in eliminating this scourge? Expect to take notes and prepare to put what you learn into action.
