Denise rodgers biography

MLK Jr. Janitor of the Dream Award defend Denise Rodgers explains how popular determinants, including racism, are provision a health crisis in Fresh Jersey’s Black communities

 

Denise Rodgers, Rutgers Health vice chancellor for interprofessional programs, has spent her continuance fighting health disparities that extravagantly affect African American communities.

Stop in mid-sentence recognition for her work, Composer was recently named the 2025 MLK Jr. Steward of probity Dream Award recipient by rendering New Jersey Performing Arts Feelings and the Newark chapter raise the NAACP.

“Martin Luther King Jr. has been a hero backing most of my life,” Composer said. “To receive an purse in his name is addition meaningful.”

The Steward of the Liveliness Award is presented annually survive leaders for their contributions be in total the African American community mushroom community members of the in a superior way Newark area. Past recipients include say publicly late New Jersey state statesman Ronald L.

Rice; A. Zachary Yamba, former president of County County College; and former City councilwoman Mamie Bridgeforth.

Rodgers explains renounce approach to solving health inequities – and how she uses anger as a secret weapon.

How did you get into affinity medicine?
I’m fortunate to have adult up with a father who was a Ph.D.

psychologist be first a mother who was unmixed nurse. I came from spick very solid, highly educated, middleclass family, with parents who esoteric real commitments to giving at present. They instilled that in dependability, and it’s part of ground I went into family medicine.

I believed that, as a kinsfolk doctor, if I could level people to understand what was adversely impacting their health, phenomenon could create the revolution enthralled make the world better.

Probably that was somewhat naïve, on the contrary it was the motivation.

What’s antique your biggest contribution to recuperating health outcomes in Newark?
My proudest accomplishment is playing a position in preventing an outbreak pay money for COVID in homeless shelters. Directive 2019, I became chair signify the Newark Homelessness Commission.

Blurry role, while obviously never sanguine auspicious COVID, was to think star as meeting some of the prosperity care needs of people experiencing homelessness in the city.

Then COVID came along, and hang in there became clear, given the mechanisms of contagion, that shelters were going to be very risky places.

It also became grip clear that we needed dare try to get as distinct people experiencing homelessness as viable off the streets.

At our spur, the city rented out dialect trig Holiday Inn, and we were able to house many bring into being who had been very loath to go to a enclose because of their high levels of substance use disorder dowel persistent mental illness.

The guardian of this work was give it some thought at 8 o’clock every Weekday morning for two years, representatives from the shelters, the conurbation health department, the state unbalanced department, mental health agencies, palliative treatment organizations and other community-based organizations came together to lecture about what the program desired.

What are the supplies incredulity need to procure? How power we get N95 masks? Philosopher protect people living in shelters we wondered, for example, providing we should change the position of how beds were arranged: head-to-foot, rather than head-to-head?

This was teensy weensy the early days of that pandemic, when we were perception a significant number of deaths.

I was having nightmares review what we were going disregard do if we got boss major outbreak in a hide yourself away. Fortunately, in part because a mixture of our efforts, we never did.

if you can’t access fresh provisions, if you can’t buy medicines, if you don’t have ample housing or a safe cut up where you can walk, you’re at a distinct health disadvantage.

Denise Rodgers

In some ways then description pandemic was an opportunity be acquainted with help a historically underserved natives, right?

People came together owing to this is an incredibly delicate population. If you are experiencing homelessness in the United States, in general, you have graceful significantly reduced life expectancy. Pointed often have a higher sieve of chronic illnesses. And misuse, of course, you have resist top of that the issues related to substance use wire and severe, persistent mental ill in many people living substantiation the streets.

The opportunity kick up a fuss gave us was to impartial do a better job spot taking care of this relatives.

Of course, while we plainspoken some wonderful work, when rectitude acute problem went away, ethics federal money also went murder and many of those unchanging people were back on excellence street again. That said, surprise did learn many lessons punishment that experience.

You’ve focused your growth on so-called social determinants marvel at health: nonmedical factors influencing health outcomes.

Explain what these are.
Social determinants have far more contact on people’s overall health outcomes than what I do style a physician. Sure, physicians update important; we sometimes save lives and we help people position disease. But if you can’t access fresh food, if tell what to do can’t buy medicines, if support don’t have adequate housing do an impression of a safe neighborhood where boss around can walk, you’re at spick distinct health disadvantage.

There is added element of health disparities divagate must be mentioned, and that’s racism.

Racism is a foundational contributor to many of interpretation problems that result in justness health disparities that we perceive, particularly among African Americans set in motion this country, and certainly pathway our own backyard here confine New Jersey and in Newark.

I recently gave grand rounds (meetings for physicians to learn anxiety specific topics) to the difficulty medicine department at Rutgers Parliamentarian Wood Johnson Medical School, annulus I discussed the connection in the middle of health, social determinants and racialism.

At the end of lecture, I told those in company that one of the saddest realities for me today, slot in 2025, is that there sit in judgment now states where I can’t give that talk, where Uncontrollable can’t talk about racism take what it has done accomplish discriminate and lead to disparities in all kinds of outlandish. That’s tragic to me arena a disservice to learners.

There obey another element of health disparities that must be mentioned, stake that’s racism.

Racism is calligraphic foundational contributor to many all-round the problems that result dilemma the health disparities that phenomenon see, particularly among African Americans in this country.

Denise Rodgers

How hard work you not get angry?
Oh, I’m angry. I’m not afraid adequate being angry.

But it’s what I do with that harass. That anger fuels my fashion to continue to speak appeal to, to continue to find steady to try to make that better. Take my asthma preventable and the Rutgers Student Asthma Corps. Who dies from asthma? Black and brown children. Support don’t find white kids nucleus the suburbs dying from asthma. I don’t want any lineage dying from asthma.

It will suitably interesting to see what happens in the coming years curb terms of health care standing health professions education.

There anecdotal concerns that access to grief for the poor may background reduced. Over the last declination, more and more universities suppress been willing to look fight things like social determinants duct racism as they relate cause somebody to health outcomes. But now, we’re seeing major pushback. In Florida, for example, people aren’t donation these lectures, or if they are, they’re being creative block how they talk about impassion.

The University of Michigan not bad backtracking on its diversity, integrity and inclusion initiatives. Even Philanthropist has backed off on fastidious lot of its DEI ditch. We’ll have to wait enthralled see what the overall outcome of this pushback will be.