Practice Title: Health Equity During a Pandemic

Department: Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness
Size: Large (Population of 500,000+ people)
State: Kentucky

Summary of Practice: 

The Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Government's (LMG) Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) is an accredited, independent, academic health department. Our mission to achieve health equity and improve the health and well-being of all Louisville residents and visitors is realized by our 265 employees, led by Dr. Sarah Moyer, a board-certified physician and Mayor Greg Fischer’s Chief Health Strategist. As of 2017, Metro Louisville’s population was 770,517 and is the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s most populous city and urban center.  

In response to early data indicating likely health inequities in outcomes due to the pandemic, the Louisville Metro Incident Management Team (IMT) established an incident objective to, “Reduce COVID-19 health inequities.” This led the response team to recruit planners from Public Health and Wellness’ Center for Health Equity (CHE) and to create an Equity Officer role within the IMT structure. The Equity Officer worked collaboratively with the Planning section to ensure the pandemic response addressed the diverse needs of our community. Several plans were created and implemented specifically around providing for the essential needs of people in isolation or quarantine using an equity lens, and other plans were reviewed for potential equity implications. Robust community networks were activated to provide culturally responsive testing, tracing, and direct support to our immigrant and refugee communities, people who are unhoused, and people who are incarcerated.