Top: Representative Sanford Bishop (D-GA 02); and Donna Washington, MD, MPH; Bottom: Former Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY 13)
Donna Washington, MD, MPH, received a 2019 Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust Award. This year’s awardees were selected based their unique support of women Veterans, as well as for their service to the wider Veteran community.
The Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust (CBCVB) serves as an advisory group for the entire Congressional Black Caucus, members of Congress, and Veterans’ organizations on the many issues that specifically impact the African American Veteran community. Each year, the CBCVB Forum provides Veterans and other stakeholders an opportunity to engage in a productive discussion with national leaders on the challenges that African American Veterans face both today as well as in the past. Dr. Washington was invited to speak about her research on quality of care, racial disparities, and women Veterans’ health as they relate to the experiences of African American women Veterans.
Dr. Washington is an investigator with the HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy and, working with VA’s Office of Health Equity, she leads the Health Equity QUERI National Partnered Evaluation Initiative. In addition, she serves as a physician at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Dr. Washington has devoted her career to addressing the healthcare needs of vulnerable and underserved populations. Her research focuses on access to ambulatory care, racial-ethnic and gender disparities in healthcare, and women Veterans.
Dr. Washington is a past recipient (2015) of the Society of General Internal Medicine's Herbert W. Nickens Award, which recognizes exceptional commitment to cultural diversity in medicine and improving minority health. She has made significant contributions toward advancing research into women Veterans' health, including through her role on the Steering Committee for the VA Women's Health Research Network, which was developed to promote and facilitate VA research on women's health. Dr. Washington also served as lead investigator on the National Survey of Women Veterans, which surveyed a large national sample of women Veterans in order to support VA evidence-based strategic planning for programs and services for this population. Dr. Washington's numerous publications and studies have focused on a variety of aspects of racial disparities in healthcare and women Veterans' health, including currently funded studies on “Mitigating Racial/Ethnic and Socio-Economic Disparities in VA Care Quality and Patient Experience” and a “Controlled Trial of Tele-Support and Education for Women’s Health Care in CBOCs.”
