It’s been just over a year since the city appointed Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis as the Director of Health, the first Black woman physician to be in the position. She’s helped steer the city through the pandemic, and recently was recognized at the White House for her work.
“President Biden shouted out our very successful pediatric rollout, which is one of the first initiatives I did as a newly minted Director of Health in October of last year,” Hlatshwayo Davis told KMOX. “And so they reached out and they wanted to talk about COVID-19, to talk about the future, and to talk health equity. So it was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. And we had a good time.”
Since then, the doctor has been faced with a slew of issues affecting the community, including the shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School last week. In a press conference, Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis said “gun violence is a public health crisis.”
“Such a tragic event to this day, we're still reeling, we're still mourning. And for me in public health, as weird as this may sound, it was important to be steady and to wait,” she explained. “Everybody's reaction was to flock to the high school, to flock to the scene.”
But she said she had to be patient, and eventually began meeting weekly with Superintendent Dr. Kelvin Adams and other leaders to make sure he knew he was supported.
“I just knew as someone who's also trained in emergency preparedness, you got to give them space to deal and to heal,” she explained.
As for what’s to come for St. Louis, Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis echoed the concerns of Dr. Alex Garza, who also joined KMOX, about the kinds of illnesses the city may see this winter.
“I'm gonna give it to you straight. We are able to model. We are already seeing, right now, flu rates, RSV rates, enterovirus rates that are higher than in the last five years, in some places in the country in the last 10 years,” she said. “We are in for a bear of a winter, right? It's not just about COVID, no matter how tired you are.” She added, “Whether or not you like it, the same mitigation strategies that helped us and COVID will help us with 20 other respiratory viruses.”
Hear more from Public Health Director Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis on KMOX:
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