The address will kick-off the three day complimentary educational event: CMHC Spring | The Cardiometabolic Challenge: Navigating a Syndemic
The Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) has announced Dr. Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, FACC, FAHA, as the keynote speaker for the upcoming CMHC Spring event taking place online April 16-18. The keynote address will begin with a call to action presentation, delivered by Dr. Ferdinand, covering the disproportionate burden and disparities with COVID-19 and will conclude with a solutions-based panel discussion with numerous key stakeholders from across the medical industry.
Dr. Ferdinand is a renowned clinical expert with a career-long history of tackling racial disparities in care through research, clinical work, and advocacy. Among many roles, Dr. Ferdinand serves as a Professor of Medicine at Tulane University and Tulane Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the past Chair of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and has served as Chief Science Officer and past chair of the Association of Black Cardiologists. In 2020, Dr. Ferdinand was appointed by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Medical Subcommittee.
Led by Dr. Ferdinand’s expertise, the keynote address and subsequent panel will cover a multitude of pressing clinical concerns including the underlying factors for medical disparities, the management of cardiometabolic comorbidities during COVID-19, the issue of vaccine hesitancy in racial and ethnic marginalized populations, and more. Press will be invited to cover the keynote address and panel discussion in order to publish pertinent information to inform the public and initiate action.
Additionally, faculty interviews will be conducted post-meeting to provide the press and general public with additional takeaways and clinical pearls.
The aim of the address is to raise awareness, facilitate discussion on these challenges, and provide practical steps and strategies that clinicians can implement to close these gaps and optimize outcomes in underserved populations. As the pervasive challenges in COVID-19 medical disparities is a multidisciplinary issue, clinicians and medical stakeholders of all backgrounds are invited to attend.
