Prominent health leader Dr. Joe Thompson has been appointed to serve on a new national panel addressing racial equity in health services research.
Thompson, the president and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, was appointed to serve on the Advisor Group on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Health Services Research by AcademyHealth, a professional association for health care researchers and policymakers. The panel’s objective is to provide guidance for AcademyHealth’s board of directors on measuring and facilitating change in its organization and across the health care ecosystem.
“I am honored to be asked to serve on this body,” Thompson said in a statement. “Health disparities in our low-income communities and communities of color must be recognized and addressed. These disparities are the result of persistent, systemic inequities, and health services researchers cannot adequately understand and find solutions for those inequities while there is insufficient diversity in our own ranks. I am confident that AcademyHealth and this advisory group can use our experience and influence to be catalysts for real change.”
Thompson previously served as the Arkansas Surgeon General under Gov. Mike Huckabee and Gov. Mike Beebe. He has also served as a Child and Adolescent Health Scholar for the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as well as an assistant vice president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
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