A Conversation with James Hildreth, Ph.D, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Meharry Medical College

A true pioneer in medicine and a renowned immunologist, Dr. Hildreth shares the life experiences that have led him to his career and calling as well as his mission to improve equity in healthcare. He wrestles with the realities of discrimination and whether we truly value all lives in the same way. This question is more important than ever before and highlighted by the disparities in patient outcomes during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Listen to hear how Dr. Hildreth continues to fight against disparity in healthcare through his own actions, research and teaching. He emphasizes how we must ensure that healthcare leadership becomes more diverse to eliminate bias from decision-making. Furthermore, Dr. Hildreth depicts the self-awareness that we should recognize in order to mitigate our own bias and truly understand the value of all people. The key to sustained improvement and change is open and honest conversations throughout all levels of healthcare, including leadership, in order to remove the assumptions we have about others.