I was invited by the Detroit Equity Action Lab, the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights and We the People of Detroit to participate in a community meeting and panel discussion drawing attention to the devastating effects of water shutoffs on the health of the poor, as well as on the public health of all citizens of Detroit.

For many opioid dependent pregnant women, seeking treatment is accompanied by the threat of imprisonment. Dr. Wendy Johnson describes a unique program in Santa Fe, NM that provides community-based comprehensive prenatal, intrapartum and post-partum care combined with medically assisted drug treatment, social support and behavioral health services for opioid dependent pregnant women. Treatment and compassion–alternatives to punishment and prison–can alter the paths of drug-using moms-to-be and truly save entire families. Dr. Johnson has over 20 years of experience in primary care, public health and global health as a clinician, teacher, policy-maker, technical advisor and manager. Her first experiences in how to deliver high quality comprehensive family health care were gained as a resident at La Famila Medical Center in the late 1990s. Since then, she has provided health care services to diverse populations from all over the world. Her career has been focused on health justice both in the US and in internationally. She has worked or volunteered on health projects in Mozambique, Vietnam, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, South Africa, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Haiti, India, El Salvador, and Guatemala. She is currently Medical Director at La Familia Medical Center in Santa Fe, Clinical Assistant Professor in the University of Washington’s Departments of Global Health and Health Services and Volunteer Faculty at the University of New Mexico Community Medicine Department. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at