Addressing Health Inequities through Loving Partnerships

Featured CCPH Member Anthony Fleg, a medical student at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also has his Masters in Public Health and a certificate in Health Disparities.

In his interview, Anthony discusses his effort to create an honest, healing partnership between American Indian communities and health professions students through the Native Health Initiative (NHI) in North Carolina. He believes that because of inequities in health care and health services, America's Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized communities, "suffer more, live sicker and die younger than other American citizens." Anthony explains how NHI is addressing these inequities not only through the creation of community-academic partnerships but also through a unique approach of promoting "an ethic of love and generosity to mobilize resources for social justice."

If you would like to be a CCPH Featured Member, or would like to refer a colleague, please email our Membership Coordinator, Cate Clegg at cleggc@u.washington.edu.

1. Briefly, what is the mission of your organization/partnership? What do you most want people to know about your organization/partnership and the work that you do?
2. What are you most passionate about in your work?
3. What is the biggest challenge you face in your work? How are you working to overcome it?
4. What wisdom, tips or lessons learned in your work would you like to communicate to fellow CCPH members?
5. What is your dream for the future of your organization/partnership?
6. What does “community-campus partnership” mean to you?
7. If you could give advice to a policy maker (Congress, President, Secretary of Health, Surgeon General, etc.) what would you say?
8. Why did you join CCPH?
9. What strengths and talents do you bring to CCPH?
10. What is your greatest hope for CCPH going forward?

1. Briefly, what is the mission of your organization/partnership? What do you most want people to know about your organization/partnership and the work that you do?

Our partnership/coalition is called the Native Health Initiative, which is a partnership between health professions students and American Indian communities to address inequities in health through loving service. The unique aspect of our work is the ways in which we use an ethic of love and generosity to mobilize resources for social justice. We also feel committed to the language and thinking of health equity, a gold standard that suggests we must work for nothing short of the elimination of all disparities/inequalities in health. Health equity also reminds us that the mere presence of these inequities, amidst the wealth of the U.S., is an injustice, and should be called as such.

2. What are you most passionate about in your work?

Our partnership/coalition is called the Native Health Initiative, which is a partnership between health professions students and American Indian communities to address inequities in health through loving service. The unique aspect of our work is the ways in which we use an ethic of love and generosity to mobilize resources for social justice. We also feel committed to the language and thinking of health equity, a gold standard that suggests we must work for nothing short of the elimination of all disparities/inequalities in health. Health equity also reminds us that the mere presence of these inequities, amidst the wealth of the U.S., is an injustice, and should be called as such.

3. What is the biggest challenge you face in your work? How are you working to overcome it?

Our partnership/coalition is called the Native Health Initiative, which is a partnership between health professions students and American Indian communities to address inequities in health through loving service. The unique aspect of our work is the ways in which we use an ethic of love and generosity to mobilize resources for social justice. We also feel committed to the language and thinking of health equity, a gold standard that suggests we must work for nothing short of the elimination of all disparities/inequalities in health. Health equity also reminds us that the mere presence of these inequities, amidst the wealth of the U.S., is an injustice, and should be called as such.

4. What wisdom, tips or lessons learned in your work would you like to communicate to fellow CCPH members?

Our partnership/coalition is called the Native Health Initiative, which is a partnership between health professions students and American Indian communities to address inequities in health through loving service. The unique aspect of our work is the ways in which we use an ethic of love and generosity to mobilize resources for social justice. We also feel committed to the language and thinking of health equity, a gold standard that suggests we must work for nothing short of the elimination of all disparities/inequalities in health. Health equity also reminds us that the mere presence of these inequities, amidst the wealth of the U.S., is an injustice, and should be called as such.

5. What is your dream for the future of your organization/partnership?

Our partnership/coalition is called the Native Health Initiative, which is a partnership between health professions students and American Indian communities to address inequities in health through loving service. The unique aspect of our work is the ways in which we use an ethic of love and generosity to mobilize resources for social justice. We also feel committed to the language and thinking of health equity, a gold standard that suggests we must work for nothing short of the elimination of all disparities/inequalities in health. Health equity also reminds us that the mere presence of these inequities, amidst the wealth of the U.S., is an injustice, and should be called as such.

6. What does "community-campus partnership" mean to you?

It suggests a collaboration, a pooling of resources, to better the lives of those that our universities are meant to serve.

7. If you could give advice to a policy maker (e.g. a Legislator, President, Prime Minister, etc.) what would you say?

To no one in particular (e.g. the current U.S. president) - if you and your family enjoy the best socialized medicine that money can buy, at the taxpayers expense, how about allowing the same for the most vulnerable and deserving in our society, the children?

8. Why did you join CCPH?

I joined because I heard great things about the organization while doing my MPH here at UNC-Chapel Hill.

9. What strengths and talents do you bring to CCPH?

I am interdisciplinary by nature - I truly believe that the injustices and inequities of our current profit-driven way of doing healthcare require a coalition of health professionals and our organizations working together to stand up for our patients.

10. What is your greatest hope for CCPH going forward?

I would like to see CCPH become a mainstay in my physician community - we need to learn from the work and mindset of CCPH.

To read about previous featured members click here.

If you would like to be an upcoming CCPH Featured Member, or would like to refer a colleague, please email CCPH at ccph@mcw.edu.