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them with a direct line to exercise classes and potential treatment . The location also brings its own set of challenges , though . With socioeconomic barriers , they must often change their approach .
“ We do have to think about very basic health IQ with our patients sometimes . I can ’ t treat your diabetes if you 1 ) don ’ t know what a carbohydrate is , 2 ) don ’ t have a roof over your head , and 3 ) you can ’ t afford the medicine . Or maybe my patient can ’ t get Ozempic , or can ’ t get the latest and greatest , but maybe we can use the $ 4 list . How can we make sure they have food at home or have a bus ticket to make it to the appointment ? It ’ s trying to be a social worker while also practicing medicine . It ’ s a challenge , but I think it makes us better doctors .”
Helping her patients be more knowledgeable and empowered in their health care journey is a driving force for her work .
“ I truly love seeing them be advocates for themselves . I love coming into a room and a patient asking me what their A1C is and getting to tell them that they ’ re doing better . How cool is it to see your patient have autonomy over their health and champion their health ? Seeing patients take some power back in a system that has victimized them in the past is the best part of my job .”
Her work inside the clinic is just the beginning . She currently serves on the Louisville Metro Commission for Persons with Disabilities , motivated by personal experiences .
“ It starts at home . My 6-year-old is minimally verbal , almost non-verbal , on the autism spectrum . I saw firsthand how hard it is to get services for people with disabilities or differently abled people . I see it every day at work , but on the personal side , we ’ ve been on a waitlist for a school for him for three years . And it takes so long for people with disabilities to get approved for things like the Michelle P . Waiver 1 ,” she said . “ I wouldn ’ t have understood a lot of that until I had a son that had a disability . The Commission has social workers , doctors , people who have a disability who can give us perspectives , trying to come together to see what different problems there are and what we can do with whatever our field and networking pool might be .”
She also sits on the Board for Kentucky Health Justice Network , a trans health and reproductive health advocacy group , and on the Board for FEAT ( Families for Effective Autism Treatment ), a group that supports families and helps prepare them for the future when a loved one is diagnosed with autism . Additionally , she is part of Falls City Medical Society , the Louisville chapter of the National Medical Association . They have a pre-med mentoring program at UofL that they hope to expand to other colleges and HBCUs in the state . With new DEI ( diversity , equity and inclusion ) legislation being passed , she is worried about what the future of medicine may look like .
“ Will we have a lack of Black and brown students , LGBT students , people with disabilities ? That will be a new struggle for us , and it makes me nervous for the future of POC [ persons of color ] health care providers in the city . We know that studies show that patients do better when they ’ re cared for by people who look like them . So it ’ s a huge concern for us .”
With that concern for future generations in mind , she does a lot of mentorships outside of medicine , as well . She is a part of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority , the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority , is an ambassador for Black Girls Run !, a national organization that facilitates group runs in cities across the country , and Emerge , which is a program that helps recruit and train young Democratic women for potential public office in the future . In all of these efforts , her goal is to be the representation that she didn ’ t see as a child .
“ In my job and in my life , I don ’ t have to ‘ fit a mold .’ I wear box braids , I have a septum piercing , I show up as authentically me . I don ’ t code switch . When I see young girls in the office , they ’ ll get so excited and say , ‘ She has braids like me !’ and they love it . I want to show that we don ’ t have to look a certain way , that I can wear
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