On May 17, Quyen Ngo-Metzger, MD, MPH, KPSOM Professor of Health Systems Science, attended a reception at the White House in recognition of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. The invitation to meet with President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was extended to Dr. Ngo-Metzger following her recent appointment as a voting member of the Health Equity Subcommittee of the President’s Advisory Commission. In this role, Dr. Ngo-Metzger helps craft recommendations to President Biden on ways to advance health equity for AANHPI communities.
“It is very important to me to be part of the President’s Advisory Commission because I have been working to address health disparities in AANHPI communities for over two decades,” said Dr. Ngo-Metzger. “I conducted the first national study to look at the quality of healthcare delivered to limited-English proficient Asian Americans almost 20 years ago. Some health inequities have improved but other health problems have worsened. It is crucial that we address the current health inequities, especially more recent problems related to COVID-19.”
Dr. Ngo-Metzger has more than a decade of leadership experience with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She plans to use her previous governmental experience to help the subcommittee engage stakeholders in the federal agencies while achieving key goals.
