Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 1-28-22

Editorial
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Florida Blue
Florida Blue Hires First Chief Health Equity Officer
JACKSONVILLE --- Florida Blue’s parent com- pany, GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation (GuideWell) announced the appointment of Dr. Kelli Tice as the enterprise’s first ever Chief Health Equity Of- ficer. GuideWell created the position to advance health equity and address long- standing social, health and racial inequities in the com- munities it serves.
The announcement of this newly created position is part of Florida Blue and GuideWell’s overall commit- ment to improve health eq- uity for its employees, members, customers and communities.
“This announcement marks another step forward in our pledge to embed diver- sity, equity and inclusion in everything we do,” said Pat Geraghty, President and CEO of Florida Blue and GuideWell. “Dr. Tice brings an unparalleled level of dedi- cation, passion and expertise in reducing health dispari- ties, delivering culturally competent care and advanc- ing our mission by improving health outcomes for people and communities.”
As Chief Health Equity Officer, Dr. Tice will serve as an officer of the company and will be responsible for creating solutions that im- prove health outcomes and address health inequities for the customers and the com- munities Florida Blue and GuideWell serves. In addi- tion, Dr. Tice will continue to have a critical role on the Equity Alliance, an enter- prise-wide initiative focused on addressing systemic racism and health disparities
DR. KELLI TICE
for Black Americans.
“As a family physician
with a background in public health, I have always champi- oned efforts to remove barri- ers to care and help people thrive and achieve their best health.
“Every American deserves affordable, high-quality care and I am fortunate to lead this strategy for a mission- driven organization that is taking a leading role in im- proving health care equity and diversity,” Dr. Tice said.
In 2018 Dr. Tice joined GuideWell and Florida Blue, the state’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan, as Senior Medical Director of Medical Affairs.
Dr. Tice served as the clinical lead for Florida Blue’s COVID-19 response, using her background in public health and her powerful voice to educate employees, mem- bers and the community about the latest medical sci- ence regarding testing, treat- ment, prevention and vaccines. Through online videos and educational events, Dr. Tice makes it her mission to educate others so they can feel empowered to make informed decisions for
themselves, their companies and their families.
In addition to her focused work around COVID-19, Dr. Tice has also led the com- pany’s health equity strategy, led the social determinants of health (SDoH) strategy and helped drive efforts for the Equity Alliance.
Under her leadership, Dr. Tice was instrumental in the development of a health eq- uity dashboard that provides greater insight into social de- terminants of health and other barriers to care that im- pact members. She also led GuideWell’s efforts to join with 40 cross-sector health organizations in committing to a Health Equity pledge to leverage data to address health disparities.
Before joining Florida Blue, Dr. Tice spent 17 years as a public health physician, serving in numerous leader- ship roles including that of county health officer and state medical director for the Florida Department of Health.
Dr. Tice has always had an interest in addressing health disparities and deliv- ering culturally competent care. Early in her career, she taught cultural competency for physicians, and incorpo- rated evidence-based tech- niques to promote health equity into primary care practice in both private and public clinical settings.
Dr. Tice is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Florida Academy of Family Physicians, and currently serves as the chair of the Deans Council, Brooks Col- lege of Health at the Univer- sity of North Florida.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
No Voting Rights, So Nothing’s New In 2022
e believe if Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was alive on the day we celebrated his birthday, he would have said, “Don’t celebrate my birthday if
you won’t support the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, be- cause your words and celebration ring hollow and is liken to a stab in my back. Don’t celebrate me if you won’t stand up for the rights I fought and died for. Your celebration is a hypocritical mockery of the rights of the habitually poor and downtrodden American citizens – the elderly, the poor, the country folks, Black and Brown people.”
The tenuous nature of the Voting Rights Act has always troubled us because of the fact that no other rights granted by the Constitution have to be continuously reau- thorized as the flavor of the month or party.
In 2022, Republicans and even a few Democrats have silently approved the attack on the voting rights of Blacks, independents, other ethnic groups, and young voters be- cause we exercised our right to vote for Joe Biden instead of Donald Trump in 2022. Well, you just wait until 2022 and 2024 when we flood the polls to vote against every Re- publican and Democrat who voted against passing the 2022 John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Moreover, Blacks should start a “Savings Protest” (put all of our money into a savings account in a credit union or bank that hires Black and Brown people) except for food, medicine, and gas. That means no new cars, no new cell phones or computers, no new shoes, jewelry, and clothes – nothing new in 2022. That means a “stay at home vacation” and a minimum of entertainment and dining out.
In addition, we should buy only from Black or Brown people when we shop. Blacks contribute $361 billion to the American economy, wherein only a ten percent drop would be felt. Not buying apparel, cigarettes and alcohol alone would save us more than $13 billion alone. Money always talks – everything else just walks.
Many of our Republican and some of our Democratic “friends” from years past who supported voting rights previously, have now turned into “enemies of voting rights” because citizens didn’t vote for their presidential candidate. Well, we say to them, if you think 2020 was a voter turnout, watch us in 2022 and 2024. We will all re- member who NOT to vote for and save money in the process.
W
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022