David Dhanraj, MD, chief medical officer and physician with our OB/GYN clinic was recently part of a panel discussing solutions to high maternal and infant mortality rates in the Dayton, Ohio region. He is pictured above on the panel, third from the left.

Dhanraj is a strong advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the healthcare community, and assuring equitable care for underserved communities, particularly in OB/GYN. Along with his roles at Wright State Physicians Dhanraj is co-leader of the DEI Task Force with Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, where he is also chair and associate professor of OB/GYN, and associate dean for clinical affairs.

Dhanraj believes it is important for healthcare providers to listen to patients and see them as partners. “We’ve got to train our docs differently, to break through the institutional racism, the biases and also make sure that people know that there’s mechanisms to get heard,” Dhanraj said.

Prior to coming to Wright State Physicians and the Boonshoft School of Medicine Dhanraj practiced in Cincinnati where he helped reduce the rate of infant mortality in a predominantly minority neighborhood in that area.

Read more about the event covered by WYSO here.