Physician Joins The American Medical Association To Lead Initiatives In Health Care Disparities And Patient And Physician Health

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 06 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The American Medical Association (AMA) welcomes Sonja Boone, M.D. as Director of Physician Health and Health Care Disparities to lead AMA efforts to address the nation's minority health and physician health efforts. Dr. Boone will also work with the "Building a Healthier Chicago" project, an effort of the AMA, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Chicago Department of Public Health that aims to improve the health and wellness of Chicago residents.

"I couldn't be more excited about joining the AMA to work on important health issues and challenges many people face with their care," said Dr. Boone. "At a time when so many patients are concerned about quality health care and how to pay for it, we must take strong steps to address preventive health care and physician health. I'm also looking forward to take direct steps to address disparity health issues on a national scale."

Working to eliminate health care disparities is a top priority for the AMA. Dr. Boone will work to lead the AMA's involvement with the Commission to End Health Care Disparities, which is also co-sponsored by the National Medical Association and the National Hispanic Medical Association. In her physician health efforts, she will work with the International Physician Health Conference with the Canadian and British Medical Association and the AMA's administrative support of the Federation of State Physician Health Programs.

Dr. Boone previously served as the Director of Diversity and Medical Director of Physician Recruitment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) in Chicago. In this position, Dr. Boone developed and implemented the Medical Staff Diversity Initiative in 1999 and has helped to increase the minority medical staff by 170 percent. She instituted new diversity programs and initiatives that had a significant impact on the representation, inclusiveness, and cultural competency for all NMH patients, more than 7,000 employees and over 1,500 physicians. She was also responsible for expanding the NMH minority/women-owned business enterprises initiative.

Dr. Boone attended Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM) and completed her residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. She has been actively involved in the NMH Department of Medicine, has served as Chair of the NMH Diversity Council and various other departmental diversity councils at NMH. She is also a founding member of the American Leadership Council on Diversity, as part of the Institute for Diversity in Healthcare Management (a subsidiary of the American Hospital Association). She teaches and mentors medical students and residents as a member of the FSM faculty. Dr. Boone also cares for patients at the Near North Winfield-Moody Clinic, an NMH-affiliated clinic serving indigent populations.

American Medical Association