Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, who stepped down last month from her role as chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), has a new role.
CVS Health on Monday announced that Khaldun is the company’s new vice president and chief health equity officer.
“As a health care innovation company committed to health equity and breaking down barriers that perpetuate health care disparities, Dr. Khaldun joins our team as Chief Health Equity Officer at a critically important time,” said Dr. Kyu Rhee, senior vice president and Aetna chief medical officer. “Her expertise in creating solutions to help improve health outcomes will help us continue addressing health inequities for the customers and communities we serve.”
Khaldun was a leading face of Michigan’s COVID-19 response. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, a senior public health physician with the DHHS, is serving as the interim chief medical executive while the state conducts a national search for Khaldun’s replacement.
“This work has been the honor of my life,” Khaldun said in September when she announced she was leaving DHHS. “I’ve been inspired by the entire [health department] team and their expertise and dedication to serving the people of Michigan.”
President Biden named Khaldun to the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. She practices emergency medicine part-time at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
She previously served as director and health officer for the Detroit Health Department and chief medical officer of the Baltimore City Health Department. She also was the director of the Center for Injury Prevention and Control at George Washington University, founder and director of the Fellowship in Health Policy in the University of Maryland Department of Emergency Medicine, and fellow in the Obama-Biden administration’s Office of Health Reform in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Khaldun earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, master’s in public health in Health Policy from George Washington University, and completed residency in emergency medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center/Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Originally published on October 18, 2021 on Michigan Advance. It is shared here with permission.
