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Dr. Garth Walker, an executive at Rush Health and an emergency department physician who grew up on the South Side, has been appointed Chicago’s next public health commissioner
“I see this opportunity as a culmination of my life’s work,” Walker, 40, said in an interview Wednesday. “I wanted to become a doctor that focused on the social and economic issues that make it hard for people to get good health … where they live, breathe, eat.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked to increase vaccination rates in marginalized communities as deputy director at the Illinois Department of Public Health
Then he focused on youth mental health, reducing gun violence and physician burnout as a White House Fellow with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the administration of President Joe Biden
Now he’s the chief medical officer at Rush Health on the Near West Side, which is part of one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the region and has a goal to reduce the nearly 20-year life expectancy gap in Chicago
At one point, the so-called death gap between neighborhoods in Chicago was the largest of any big city in America. Despite progress, residents on the South and West Sides can expect to die the earliest
“How do we build an infrastructure and continue to build an infrastructure that protects those communities intentionally,” Walker said. “There’s also an opportunity to lift up our public health leaders, those that are on the ground, those that may not feel as valued with some of the shifts in funding at the federal level.”
The Chicago public health department oversees everything from inspecting restaurants to managing disease outbreaks. It’s a big job with dwindling re
Walker said he would continue to build out the CARE program, where mental health workers instead of police respond to people in a mental health crisis. He said he would work to find money and new partners to jumpstart health equity zones the city created during the pandemic that ultimately poured re national model
Researchers who evaluated health equity zones found that they helped build Chicago’s “health equity muscle,” according to a copy of their report. More than 600 partnerships were built or strengthened between leaders at the city and community organizations
As for how to handle being grilled by City Council members, Walker said his background as an ER physician and athlete would help. (He’s a runner)
“You have to know yourself very well in terms of how you manage stress,” Walker said. “I think for me it’s having the stability of my family, the stability of my faith, but also the why. And I think the mission is going to be what carries me through any type of politics that come my way.”
In an interview, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Walker was the only person he interviewed for public health commissioner
“His connection to Chicago and his understanding of communities that have lived through disparity, and his clarity around what those communities deserve and need from a public health standpoint, was quite motivational,” Johnson said
Johnson appointed Walker, but the City Council must approve his new role
“A Black male physician as credentialed as he is, I expect people to see his value … the skills and expertise that he brings to government,” Johnson said
Walker would replace Dr. Olusimbo Ige, who resigned in May after about two and half years on the job. A
Walker grew up in Hyde Park, attended Chicago public schools and is on the boards of the Polk Bros. Foundation, Thresholds, which provides mental health and substance use services, and the Chicago Urban League
Kristen Schorsch is a senior reporter covering public health for WBEZ
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