Emily Beauregard
Kentucky Voices for Health
Job Title: Executive Director
KHC Committee Participation: Executive Committee
As the director of Kentucky Voices for Health, Emily leads a coalition of health advocates from across the Commonwealth who work together to ensure that all Kentuckians have a voice in the decisions that impact their health.
What are you most excited about working on in the future around health and healthcare improvement?
I’ve been excited to watch the Kentucky Association of Community Health Workers develop and grow over the past few years. CHWs know patients as people first – it’s their ability to relate and build trust that makes them so effective. If we want our healthcare system to be truly patient-centered, adding CHWs to the care team is the place to start.
What do you see as the biggest threat to our community’s health? How do you feel it needs to be addressed?
When you can map a city’s health by zip code, it’s a clear sign that something is wrong. We need our policymakers to address the inequities on our communities by investing more in low-income neighborhoods and removing systemic barriers that have created an unequal playing field for minorities, women, and people with disabilities.
Why do you think a multi-stakeholder coalition like the KHC is needed in the community?
Everyone acknowledges that our healthcare system is broken and it’s not a problem that any one sector can solve. That’s why it’s so important to have employers, providers, insurers, policymakers, and consumers tackling issues of healthcare value and health disparities around one table.
What is your favorite quote?
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” – Muhammad Ali
If Hollywood made a movie of your life; who would you like to see play the lead role as you?
Assuming we’ve suspended all disbelief here, I would have to say J-Law, hands down.
