On August 18th, the Nashville Health Care Council and NashvilleHealth co-hosted a virtual conversation on Health Equity and Action to Eliminate Disparities, part 1 of a 3-part series. We're sharing this discussion with you today, where I'm joined by leading experts in the field:

• Cara James, President and CEO of Grantmakers in Health. Dr. James is a nationally recognized thought leader in health equity and improving health outcomes for vulnerable populations. She previously served as Director of the Office of Minority Health at CMS, where she developed the agency's first Equity Plan to Improve Quality in Medicare and its first Rural Health Strategy, and I know her from her time at the Kaiser Family Foundation, where she served as Director of the Disparities Policy Project and Director of the Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program.

• And Dr. Andrea Willis, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. A pediatrician by training, Dr. Willis previously served the State of Tennessee as the director of CoverKids, helped develop Tennessee's federally approved State Children's Health Insurance Program, and served as deputy commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health. I have the privilege of regularly working with and learning from Dr. Willis on the NashvilleHealth Governing Board.

In our discussion, we explore health inequity and its long-standing threat to business and community growth and vitality. And we outline actionable steps for individuals and organizations to take to reduce racial health disparities, and become part of the effort to turn this historic national moment into a movement.