Conversations with Health Equity Champions
The Root of the Issue shares the personal and professional journeys of nationally recognized health equity advocates and their work to end disparities in access to healthcare and basic needs in America. Our podcast provides inspiration to become involved in our collective quest for health equity and offers common sense solutions to the underlying injustices that prevent all Americans from living a life of health and well-being.
After two-and-a-half years of working through the COVID-19 pandemic, Amy Knight, president of the Children’s Hospital Association and Dr. Angelo Giardino, a pediatrics specialist in Salt Lake City, UT, discuss the dimensions of providing quality healthcare to children with an emphasis on mental health.
Knight says, “Our focus has shifted a little bit. I say with pride, children's hospitals have always done a great job of taking care of kids but we're starting to understand that issues are different and that we can still do better. So right now we're spending a lot of time on mental health. That's not only a children's hospital issue, that's a community issue and we feel like we have a voice to to speak on behalf of kids and families.”
Dr. Giardino adds, “In pediatrics we really are starting to shift our focus from health care to children's health. Health care has a lot to do with the visit to the doctor's office, meeting with the doctor and the nurse and the other professionals. But, working with children and families and the communities that they live in it is much more important to focus on social health and emotional health. We're seeing that kids are struggling and particularly in the behavioral health or mental health arena.”
