Maram Museitif of Central Health of Travis County Hospital District in Austin, Texas joins me to discuss health policy, empowerment and strengthening community health. You can find her on Twitter @MaramMPH.
Maram’s mission is improving the health and well-being of our community. She believes we need to deliver empathetic care from an equity lens and be the change we wish to see in the world. Maram was appointed by Mayor Steve Adler and Council Members in 2017 to serve on Central Health’s Board of Directors in Travis County. She is the first Muslim health leader in Austin. She has a Master’s in Public Health and is pursuing her doctorate at the University of Texas.
Highlights include:
6:20 – MM: “How can you address these issues that are beyond the clinical wall? How can you provide them with healthy, nutritious, affordable meals that they can eat and have better health outcomes at the same time? How can you ask them to work out or walk in their neighborhoods if it’s not safe for them to walk?”
8:45 – MM: “In reality, the service they need is much different than what we’re delivering and without us being empathetic to their needs, they will not ever be able to deliver quality care.”
12:35 – MM: “I just love to hear from community members what’s working, what’s not working. I would actually rather hear what’s not working more than what’s really working and I’m not there to be praised by any means. Tell us how bad we are and how can we fix it.”
14:14 – MM: “You need to be authentic to who you are and what you stand for. And eventually people will come along.”
20:20 – MM: “Sometimes we’re not invited to the table, but unfortunately we need to invite ourselves and be there. But what’s the key to empower women is authenticity and being true to who you are. And as a minority, it takes a lot of work, a lot of resilience to step forth.”
Leading with Health is hosted by Jennifer Michelle. Jennifer has a Master’s in Public Health and Epidemiology and is a certified EMT. As President of Michelle Marketing Strategies, Jennifer specializes in healthcare marketing. She is on a mission to create a healthcare system that actually cares about the patients and the providers.