Former AHA chairman John Bluford honored for efforts to improve minority health

The National Minority Quality Forum today presented its Booker T. Washington Award to John Bluford, president and founder of the Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute, for his efforts to promote diversity in the field, reduce health care disparities and enhance health equity for all individuals. Bluford, who is the president emeritus of Truman Medical Centers in Kansas City and served as AHA chairman in 2011, accepted the award at NMQF’s leadership summit in Washington, D.C. “Throughout his career, John has been a tireless advocate for advancing health equity and diversity in health care leadership,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “As AHA chairman, he was extremely influential in helping to start the National Call to Action to Eliminate Health Care Disparities, and his efforts continue today through the Bluford Healthcare Leadership Institute, which is creating a pipeline of talented, culturally competent scholars for future leadership roles.”