DALLAS -- Mayor Eric Johnson on Tuesday named Dr. Kelvin Baggett as the new City of Dallas COVID-19 Health and Healthcare Access Czar.

Mayor Johnson asked Dr. Baggett, a seasoned healthcare executive, to take on the role, which includes assessing and leading efforts to increase testing and contact tracing and promoting health measures, especially in underserved communities.

“We are all doing what we can to respond to the daunting and unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor Johnson said. “But it has become clear to me that we need someone to focus on helping those most in need and increasing their access to testing and healthcare. These steps are critical for our ongoing public health response and for our reopening and recovery efforts. I am confident that Dr. Baggett has the skills, experience, and background to help all of our communities stay healthy."

National data has shown broad disparities — by race, ethnicity, income, and other factors — in COVID-19 hospitalization and death rates. “While this disease has pushed us away from each other physically, we cannot let it tear us apart and deepen the divide in our city between the haves and have-nots,” Mayor Johnson said.

To help promote health and healthcare access in Dallas for all and to minimize the impact of this pandemic, Dr. Baggett will:

• Recommend measures to save lives and slow the spread of COVID-19 in Dallas by improving access to healthcare, testing, and other essential services.
• Recommend the collection and reporting of data by the City of Dallas regarding COVID-19 risks, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths to determine if certain populations are disproportionately impacted by the disease.
• Evaluate and analyze the data collected by the City of Dallas and Dallas County.
• Engage with healthcare and scientific leaders across the country to bring innovative best practices to the City of Dallas.
• Direct outreach about COVID-19’s risks, spread, symptoms, and the resources available to inform all stakeholder groups on how to protect their health and the health of others.
• Provide other advice and take additional actions as requested by Mayor Johnson.

Dr. Baggett is a physician trained in public health and business. Currently, he serves as Managing Director of Posterity Capital Group, a firm committed to investing in companies that improve healthcare delivery and health outcomes. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to Pharos Capital Group. He previously served as the Chief Clinical Officer for Tenet Healthcare and as Chief Operating Officer for HCA, Clinical Services Group. Most recently, he was the Chief Operating Officer for Health Care Navigator.

Dr. Baggett completed his training in Internal Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine. He completed advanced training as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar in the Department of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and as a General Internal Medicine Fellow at the Duke University School of Medicine. He earned his B.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Doctor of Medicine Degree from the East Carolina University School of Medicine, a Master of Public Health Degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a Master of Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

“I am honored that Mayor Johnson has asked me to fill this vital role, and I am gratified that I have this opportunity to use my skills and background to serve my community during this difficult time,” Dr. Baggett said. “This integrated and collaborative approach to how we deliver care and services will help Dallas rebound quicker economically and maintain our public health for the future.”

Read Dr. Baggett’s bio here. For more information on COVID-19, including testing data and information, visit DallasCityHall.com/coronavirus.

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