personalities
By Sarah Robinson
Health Equity Hero
O
n April 5, New Albany resident Dr. Nwando Olayiwola stepped into the roles of senior vice president and chief health equity officer for Humana. And while this is a new position for her, the work is not. “This is the first time I’ll have an official title that says health equity in it,” Olayiwola says, “but I would say everything that I have been committed to professionally and personally, for as long as I can remember, has been about equity, health equity, inclusion and social justice.” Until her recent appointment to Humana, Olayiwola served as both professor and chair of the department of family 12
and community medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Among numerous other roles, she’s also an author, activist and speaker. She serves on the New Albany Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Action Committee, which is now developing recommendations for the city on how to create an environment that is welcoming to all people, a diverse citizenship, and inspire participation in community activities and leadership roles. You can find her recent TEDx presentation, Combatting Racism and Place-ism in Medicine, on the TEDx Talks YouTube page.
“We took an oath,” she says on the TEDx Talk. “We promised our patients and our society that we would take care of them, that we would do no harm. Honor your oath and give patients the love and the care that they need, and together we can give life, love, hope and healing to the communities we serve, and together we can do no harm.” The TEDx Talk was received well, not only by her colleagues at OSU but by the central Ohio community. She says teachers at New Albany High School have reached out, among others, to tell her how they’ll be using her www.healthynewalbanymagazine.com
Photos courtesy of Nwando Olayiwola
Dr. Nwando Olayiwola is continuing the fight for health equity
