The AMA’s inaugural chief health equity officer, Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH, will depart the organization at the end of 2024 following a successful five-year and a half year tenure where she led the creation of the AMA’s Center for Health Equity, strengthened AMA’s national presence and voice on health equity, and led the development of an ambitious strategic plan that embedded equity across the work of the organization—including its management team, House of Delegates, Board of Trustees, and members.
As someone who has led a long and successful career in supporting organizational change management and top-level leadership in equity, Dr. Maybank intends to take time and pursue her creative interests and talents at the intersection of art and health. The AMA will soon begin the process to fill the role of AMA chief health equity officer, who will carry forward the organization’s commitment to health equity and build on the progress made over the past five and a half years.
“Dr. Maybank has been a true champion and advocate for health equity both inside the AMA and in shaping our health system. She created a strong, strategic foundation for this work to continue over the long term,” AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, said. “We thank her for taking on this difficult work, for enduring sometimes harsh criticisms, for standing tall for her equity peers across the nation, and for working diligently with passion and integrity across the AMA and medicine to advance health equity throughout the country.”
The national conversation around health equity—and the recognition of racism as a significant threat to public health—has changed dramatically since Dr. Maybank joined the AMA in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic brought greater awareness of the impact of structural and social drivers of health on everyone and more specifically to the inequitable systems across the health ecosystem and country that contribute to and produce worse health outcomes for historically marginalized and excluded people and communities.
“The American College of Physicians is appreciative of Dr. Maybank’s leadership, equanimity, and data driven approach, paired with her ability to view all through a human lens, that has helped move health equity forward in the U.S.,” said Darilyn Moyer, CEO of the American College of Physicians (ACP). “The work she has led at the AMA’s Center for Health Equity and in collaboration with the ACP and others has contributed greatly to our mutual goal of advancing equity throughout health care, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.”
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At the 2018 Annual Meeting, the AMA House of Delegates passed policy that called on the organization to more clearly define health equity and to outline a strategic framework toward achieving optimal health for all people. These actions paved the way for the creation of the AMA chief health equity officer position and, ultimately, the AMA Center for Health Equity (The Center). In 2020, the AMA, led by a pledge from the Board of Trustees, officially recognized racism as an urgent threat to public health, and race as a social, and not a biological, construct.
“At its core, health equity work is about inspiring each other to care more and to do better, to witness and affirm the humanity of all,” said Dr. Maybank, who before joining the AMA was a deputy commissioner and the founding director of the Center for Health Equity in New York City Health Department. “Health equity is about manifesting the will for and being open to the need for change to shift resources and investments when needed. This is work the AMA will continue and has a plan in place to help achieve it.”
Under Dr. Maybank’s guidance and leadership, The Center has become a powerful voice on topics related to health equity, systemic and historical racism in medicine, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the health care industry, and a valued partner with like-minded organizations seeking to create a more just and equitable health care system. The AMA launched its first Strategic Plan to Embed Social Justice and Advance Health Equity in 2021, and issued a new two-year plan earlier this year, which documented progress made to advance health equity.
During Dr. Maybank’s tenure, the AMA has provided a platform for the organization to engage in more open and honest conversations about its own past failings and exclusionary practices that have contributed to some of the inequities that persist in medicine today and has expanded education opportunities for physicians, residents and students in numerous ways, including:
- The Health Equity Education Center in our AMA Ed HubTM, with curated resources from the AMA’s more than 15 external partners.
- The AMA STEPS Forward® open-access resources, with toolkits dedicated to addressing social determinants of health and advancing racial justice and health equity.
- The popular “AMA Prioritizing Equity” video series.
- The National Health Equity Grand Rounds series on a variety of urgent equity topics.
- The Medical Justice in Advocacy fellowship.
- Expert guidance on Embedding Equity in Crisis Response.
The AMA also collaborated closely with leading health equity and social justice organizations to help launch several important initiatives, including:
- The Rise to Health Coalition, that brings together individuals and organizations to transform health care through coordinated and collective action.
- The West Side United collaborative to dismantle structural inequities and improve economic vitality on Chicago’s West Side.
- The Peer Network for Advancing Equity through Quality and Safety.
- The In Full Health Learning & Action Community to Advance Equitable Health Innovation to foster greater inclusion in technology and investment spheres.
“Dr. Aletha Maybank has been a transformative force for health equity in the United States. As the chief health equity officer of the AMA and founder of the Center for Health Equity, she has consistently demonstrated visionary leadership and harnessed the power of collaboration to enable healthcare providers to more effectively address health inequities and their root causes,” said Daniel E. Dawes, founding dean for the School of Global Health at Meharry Medical College and author of The Political Determinants of Health. “From developing and launching exceptional programs such as the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship to equip the next generation of medical professionals to champion health equity and justice, to crafting the comprehensive health equity communications guide, 'Advancing Health Equity: A Guide to Language, Narrative, and Concepts,' among so many innovative accomplishments, she has set a new benchmark for advancing inclusivity and cultural humility for all healthcare professionals around the globe. Dr. Maybank’s enduring legacy at the AMA will continue to serve as a beacon of inspiration, guiding future health leaders as they work to achieve optimal health for all.”
The AMA’s work to advance health equity has also been woven into the organization’s ongoing advocacy efforts at the federal and state levels. Policy changes have advanced national nutrition guidelines, eliminated harmful race-based clinical algorithms, and helped extend Medicaid coverage for a full year postpartum with passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and Consolidated Appropriations Act in 2023.
Health equity has also been advanced by the AMA’s advocacy in the courts, which helped uphold the Indian Child Welfare Act with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Haaland v. Brackeen, fought to protect pregnant women from being criminalized for a substance use disorder, and enforce a ban on dangerous and highly addictive menthol cigarettes. The AMA’s advocacy also helped remove the Food and Drug Administration's discriminatory restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men.
“Many health organizations have called attention to deep inequities and pushed for a more equity health system much longer than the AMA, but thanks to Dr. Maybank’s leadership, we are a better partner and ally in breaking down barriers to improve the health of all people and communities,” Dr. Madara said. “Dr. Maybank’s tremendous courage and powerful voice has made us a credible partner in this work, and the AMA would not be where it is today without her powerful leadership and strategic guidance.”
