EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Tsu-Yin Wu, an Eastern Michigan University professor from the College of Health and Human Services, has been named the winner of the 2020 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) National Civic League Health Equity Award.

She will be recognized virtually for her accomplishments during a Livestream award ceremony, which will be hosted live on the All-America City Awards Facebook page on Tuesday, August 18 at 7 p.m.

The RWJF-National Civic League Award seeks to recognize individuals or teams of individuals (no more than two individuals) who have successfully implemented a systems change approach to reduce health disparities within the past two years related to one or more of the following areas: access to quality care, education, employment, income, community environment, housing, and public safety.

Wu, who serves as the director of the Center for Health Disparities, Innovations, and Studies and is a professor of nursing at Eastern Michigan University, has worked diligently over 15 years to transform health care systems, including to provide badly needed health care programs culturally-tailored to the Asian-American community, particularly those traditionally underserved, to improve their health outcomes and access to care. Wu has also contributed significant empirical efforts to better the representation of Asian Americans’ health status and voices in health care research.

"What a privilege to be honored with the 2020 RWJF-National Civic League Health Equity Award,” said Wu. “I am truly grateful to be part of the wonderful CHDIS team and thankful for the support from EMU, including President Smith, colleagues and numerous community partners and leaders. Every single one of them has inspired me, helped shape my work and research, and also helped me realize the potential for our work together to truly make a difference.”

Applications for the award had to demonstrate alignment with the following criteria:

• Efforts that advance Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s vision for building a culture of health and achieving health equity
• Demonstrated success in changing systems that impact health outcomes in one or more of the following areas: access to quality care, education, employment, income, community environment, housing, and public safety
• Targeted efforts that improve outcomes for groups most affected by health disparities
• Successful implementation of a systems change approach to reduce health disparities within the past two years
• Ongoing, and authentic community engagement.

“Thank you, NCL, for recognizing Michigan’s health equity work in the Midwest, where the population of Asian Pacific Americans is not as large as other more APA populated states such as California and New York,” Wu said. “I'm dedicating the award to those people we’ve worked with me in this amazing journey."

The National Civic League says it believes that to achieve health equity we must understand the challenges, aspirations, barriers and realities of the community. To share the example of innovative approaches to equity and shine a light on leaders across this country, the League partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create the Health Equity Award. For more information on the award, visit the NCL award website.

To learn more about the Center for Health Disparities Innovations and Studies at EMU, visit the program website.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves 20,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.