money Dr. Joneigh Khaldun on adversity, leading public health through a pandemic and being a role model
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women across the country who have made a significant impact. The annual program is a continuation of Women of the Century, a 2020 project that commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun’s first widely seen public appearance came late in the evening of March 11, 2020. She stood next to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as the governor delivered a stark message: Anyone sick should stay home to protect those most vulnerable to COVID-19, and businesses, schools and universities should take steps to limit in-person gatherings and mitigate potential spread of disease.
“We need everyone to do their part to prevent the spread of this disease as much as possible, and these recommendations will help us prevent that spread, and help us save lives,” Khaldun said.
Khaldun, then Michigan’s chief medical executive, was the face of the state’s health department for more than a year. She helped guide the state through different parts of the pandemic, from the first cases and initial shutdown orders, to the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines to the rescission of the state’s health orders in June 2021. Khaldun left the state in September of that year, and was named CVS Health’s Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer a month later.
In a conversation with USA TODAY, Khaldun spoke about the trials the pandemic presented and how she overcame them, as well as her hopes for the future and making public health equitable for all.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
You’ve held two major roles since the start of the pandemic. In either role, or even in a personal manner, who do you think of as your biggest supporters?
I've been just so lucky to have supportive people who have just encouraged me throughout my life, quite frankly, to be able to do what I think I was put on Earth to do – help build systems and structures so that people can be healthy.
I've certainly got the support of my husband, of my three children who are always patient with me as I've worked most of their lives. My extended family has been supportive of me.
But also I think the people that I've had the honor of working alongside throughout all of this. It's just been an honor to be a part of such a great team and to work alongside such great leaders that really just want to do the right thing. Unfortunately, it's been very challenging circumstances for all of us over the past couple of years.
Is there a moment from the past two years you point to as the most difficult? Is there one when you felt most encouraged?
I think some of the most challenging times have been when both the professional and personal aspects of the pandemic all came together. I do think all of us have had to deal with the pandemic both personally and professionally.
I was trying to do everything I could to make sure we had vaccines and testing and strategies in place to protect people and prevent the virus from spreading. At the same time, having three children in school, two of them were at home with virtual learning for an entire school year – more than that actually.
(On a positive side), I always remember watching those first vaccines come into the state. I was actually on site at the University of Michigan. We were able to participate in the first people being vaccinated.
I think for me, that really meant a transition point for this pandemic. We finally had a vaccine that was going to protect people and I do think that that changed the trajectory of the pandemic.
Are there any guiding principles you look toward to work through adversity?
It's always about doing the right thing. And even when times are hard, even when people don't want to hear what you’re trying to say, for me, I'm going to keep doing the right thing in trying to be the best communicator and leader that I can be.
It's about putting one foot in front of the other, taking good care of yourself and being patient with yourself and others.
You mentioned people not always wanting to hear what you have to say. As a health professional, how difficult is it to get through that pushback?
It’s certainly been challenging. I think the challenging thing about the pandemic is that it’s evolved – it’s evolved as the virus is changing and as we’re learning more about it. As the virus evolves, so has the science. What we know about therapeutics and vaccines has evolved as well.
Particularly in my role with the state, I'm really trying to just make the information and the science as easily digestible and clear as possible for people. Making sure people know what we know and also what we don't know, which is really important.
As a doctor, as a licensed practicing physician, I realize that sometimes people may not be interested in, or be able to, or want to make the decision that’s the healthiest for them, but that’s not a reason to be discouraged. It means you really have to be patient as a health care professional.
You have to try and meet people where they are. It’s not about making a political decision, it’s just doing the best we can to try to save people, whatever side of the political aisle they may be on.
Are there certain lessons you’ve learned during the pandemic that you wish you could go back and tell yourself beforehand?
I think as a country, we were ill prepared for this pandemic. Just because of lack of investment, whether it's data, staffing, infrastructure. I wish, as a country, we had been better prepared.
Even though I think most public health leaders acknowledged early on that this was not going to be a short, couple-of-months thing, I wish there was some way to prepare the general public for this longer haul, a couple years-plus, of this pandemic. I don’t know if there's an easy way to do that, but I wish there was an easier way to help folks understand that this is a long-term thing.
In your work, do you feel that you’re helping pave a path for others? Do you think of others before who paved a path for you?
Oh, absolutely. It’s not lost on me that there are people who sacrificed and quite frankly died so I can have the opportunities that I have had. I do recognize that people are looking at me – whether it's women, people of color, children, people from Michigan, I realized that I am a role model.
I have tried to uphold a certain set of standards. I've tried to be myself and be bold in what I do, but also make sure I'm paving the way for others with mentorship and teaching. I love mentoring, teaching and and bringing others along as well.
In your role with CVS Health, are there certain goals you’re striving to achieve?
The work of public health is not just about the work of the governmental health department. I think that's one thing we've also really had to understand even with this pandemic, it can't be just the government that's doing all the work. We really have to focus on businesses, employers, hospitals, schools. There are many entities and people that really have to come together and have an important role to play to advance the health of the public, as well.
There's so many ways that we can impact health in the community – how people access our care, virtual services, how we are identifying and addressing disparities and communities working with our provider network.
Arpan Lobo reports on government and politics for The Holland Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at alobo@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.
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This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Former Michigan chief medical executive now CVS Health vice president
