Tennessee Voices, Episode 81: Dr. Andrea Willis, BlueCross BlueShield Tennessee
The Tennessee Voices videocast brings readers conversations with authors of insightful and compelling guest columns.
David Plazas- David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee.
Dr. Andrea Willis knew she wanted to be a medical doctor when, as a little girl in Athens, Alabama, she sought to help a cat give birth to kittens.
Today, Willis is the senior vice president and chief medical officer for BlueCross BlueShield Tennessee, which provides health insurance for 70% of Tennesseans.
She is a frequent guest column contributor on health issues to the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee, but her most recent op-ed focused on racial justice, specifically recognizing racism as a public health threat.
Willis spoke about her background and her contributions in this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast.
We discussed the role of empathy, how expanded telehealth is helping patients during the COVID-19 era, fighting health misinformation and building trust with marginalized communities.
Willis mentioned the Tuskegee Study — a 40-year examination of untreated syphilis in Black men — as one example why many African Americans mistrust the American health care system.
We also talked about some of the growing crises in the time of the coronavirus: a rising rate of painkiller abuse, untreated chronic health conditions such as diabetes or hypertension, and a growing incidence of mental illness diagnoses.
When she is not working, Willis enjoys reading detective novels including tomes by James Patterson, but also nonfiction works such as "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg. She also enjoys exercising and watching television programs like NBC's "World of Dance."
Op-Ed by Dr. Andrea Willis:Why we must recognize racism as a public health threat
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About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program that invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network - Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network - Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.