The Marilyn Meyerhoff Equity Award, named after the late Marilyn Meyerhoff, a longtime benefactor and sponsor of Children’s HealthWatch equity-focused events, is an annual award given to a passionate advocate committed to achieving equity for all children and their families.
We are thrilled to present the Marilyn Meyerhoff Equity Award for 2024 to Dr. Kofi Essel. This award is given to someone who is a passionate advocate committed to achieving equity for all children and their families.
Dr. Essel is a board-certified community pediatrician who is the inaugural Food as Medicine Director at Elevance Health. Dr. Essel has dedicated his entire career to advocacy and research around healthcare training, health disparities, and community engagement. He is nationally renowned for his scholarly work, dedication to pediatric care, and groundbreaking expertise and accomplishments in identifying and addressing food insecurity from the vantage point of healthcare.
“Children’s HealthWatch thanks Dr. Essel for his transformative work connecting the dots to demonstrate how healthcare can address longstanding racial health disparities by prioritizing access to nutritious and culturally relevant food to prevent, manage, and even treat health conditions exacerbated by food insecurity and economic hardship,” said Dr. Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Executive Director of Children’s HealthWatch.
We at Children’s HealthWatch want to thank Dr. Essel for his transformative work connecting the dots to demonstrate how healthcare can address longstanding racial health disparities by prioritizing access to nutritious and culturally relevant food to prevent, manage, and even treat health conditions exacerbated by food insecurity and economic hardship.
Congratulations to Dr. Essel for being the Children’s HealthWatch Marilyn Meyerhoff Award recipient for 2024!