COVID-19 and the impact on local public health practice and policy
Cities, counties, states and nations are making difficult choices to protect citizens and stand up local healthcare systems. From stay-at-home orders to physical distancing, we are changing our daily routines. What happens if these steps are taken too late? Or rolled back too soon? What is happening to the most vulnerable among us: elders, individuals who experience disabilities, those who do not have health insurance and access to regular medical care? A panel of local experts will explore these questions for us in Sedgwick County. The panel will be moderated by Melissa Walker, interim director of the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs.
Panelists include:
- Phillip Brownlee, Executive Director of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County
- Shelley Duncan, Executive Director of Project Access
- Venus Lee, CEO, GraceMed Health Clinic
- Adrienne Byrne, Director, Sedgwick County Health Department
Dr. Walker is an associate professor of public administration. She joined Wichita State in 2006, after a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The focus of Dr. Walker's policy research is on access and the cost of healthcare. She has studied treatment of diabetes when patients do not have health insurance as well as Medicaid reimbursement of services provided to individuals who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities.