MEET WM. JAHMAL MILLER, HEALTH EQUITY EXPERT AND AUTHOR OF ENGROSSING NEW MEMOIR

By Michael P Coleman

If you don’t yet know first-time author Wm. Jahmal Miller, check out his new memoir, Equity, Equality, & Justice For All.

“Whether you are an academic, a high school student, graduate student, civil rights leader, health care executive, policy maker, or concerned community member, this book will resonate deeply with you,” Miller promised, via a prepared statement.

Having read that, this writer (and self-described “concerned community member”) had to call Williams to learn more. As it turns out, he didn’t just sit down, willy nilly, and write a book because he wanted to see his name in print.

“I never had aspirations of writing books,” Miller EXCLUSIVELY shared. “Now that it’s done, I aspire to incite people towards sustainable and transformative actions that move from a conversation about equity to realizing it in the lives of millions.”

He aspires to “incite” people. Spoken like a true community leader, wouldn’t you say?

Miller is uniquely qualified to address the topic of which he passionately writes. He is the Chief Administrative Officer of Mercy Medical Group, a service of Dignity Health Medical Foundation. Prior to taking on that role, he served as System Vice President with CommonSpirit Heath, where he had responsibility for national health equity and inclusion initiatives. Before publishing the new book, Miller had also served as Governor Jerry Brown’s Deputy Director of the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity.

As Miller struck me as a go-getter who wasn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves and get the work done, I wondered about his biggest challenges while working within an often staid state government bureaucracy.

“The greatest challenge was navigating the many institutional barriers inherent in government that make doing the right and most equitable things very difficult,” Miller said. “Having to move at a slower pace and be patient, particularly with other executive leaders and department heads who didn’t share my office’s passion, urgency, and commitment to cultural competency was challenging.”

It was during Miller’s tenure in Governor Brown’s administration that he conceived of Equity, Equality, & Justice For All.

“I started writing the book in the summer of 2017,” Miller remembered. “I’d sit in the bleachers at my daughters’ youth track meets and start writing about the various experiences I was having. [A few years later], at the height of Covid and the social unrest, I finalized the initial manuscript. It took a few years, but the timing of this book release is right.”

“Health inequity continues to be one of the leading public health and socioeconomic issues of our time,” Miller continued. “As a healthcare leader and health equity expert, I believe the book is a broad reaching tool that allows me to amplify the importance of achieving health equity for all, especially for those most marginalized.”

Health equity has been at the forefront of conversations on social ills for decades, as we’ve learned that an individual’s optimal health isn’t solely determined by who their doctor is or where they receive health care. Instead, it is also heavily predicated by where a person lives, learns, works, plays, and worships.

Miller speaks of those social determinants with the fervor of a preacher in the pulpit.

“The ecosystem within which we all live is either curated to support our optimal health, mental health, and wellbeing or not,” Miller said. “The extent to which some are unfairly advantaged and favored in a society is where inequity starts to rear its ugly head.”

“As for people of color, we are most disproportionately and adversely burdened by what’s unfair, unjust and unequal in society, and of the many ways we bear the consequences, [with] deterioration of our physical and mental health [being] the most obvious evidence,” Miller continued. “Therefore, we and our allies must band together to advocate and activate for radical change at all levels in private and public sectors.”

I was curious about Miller’s current role with Mercy Medical Group, and how it might inform him as an emerging author on health equity.

“I’m responsible for leading nonclinical areas of our medical group of over 500 physicians and advanced practice providers,” Miller said. “I focus on areas of business, finance, analytics, community relations, provider compensation, communications, contract management, philanthropy, governance support as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Miller has said that his role on Governor Brown’s team was a “tipping point” in his life, a time when he was “afforded a platform to affect change at the highest levels on state government.”

One may wonder what Miller’s life and career were like prior to having been given that platform.

“My career was progressing well, but my purpose and passion that fueled my interest in leading socially impactful, mission-oriented work in healthcare remained unfulfilled,” Miller confided. “However, by the time I was appointed [by Governor Brown], all of the skill sets and experiences I had garnered uniquely prepared me for that moment.”

“Moreover, God was up to something in my life,” Miller continued, “so it has very much so been a providential journey.”

Didn’t I tell you that Miller sounded like a preacher?

Pull up a pew and take in some of Miller’s wisdom by reading his new book. His stories of personal and career successes highlight his impressive background and career to-date, and promise an engrossing read. n

Equity, Equality, & Justice For All is available wherever you purchase books.

Michael P Coleman is a Sacramentobased freelance writer, audio / visual host and producer, marketing professional, and live event host. Connect with him at MichaelPColeman.com