Dr. Kanika A. Cunningham, an associate medical director with Family Care Health Center, is joining the St. Louis County Department of Public Health as public health officer.
“I’m excited about this opportunity to continue doing the work that is important to me – serving the urban and under-resourced communities by increasing access to primary care services and working to decrease inequities for health for communities of color,” Cunningham said in a release.
A St. Louis native, Cunningham has served Family Care Health Center since August 2017, associate medical director of FCHC’s Carondelet site since March 2019 and clinical faculty to St. Louis University’s Department of Family and Community Medicine.
She is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honors Society and serves as a consulting physician to the Missouri State Opioid Response Team. Cunningham has also helped craft the Faith Based Opioid Initiative, which engages communities of faith, primarily in African American neighborhoods.
“Dr. Cunningham has worked for years with our must vulnerable residents, seeing firsthand the disparities that exist when it comes to health care,” said County Executive Dr. Sam Page.
“We are excited that she is joining the Department of Public Health in this new position as we continue our work to improve access to healthcare for everyone and focus on some of our most vexing community challenges such as the opioid epidemic – an issue that Dr. Cunningham is passionate about.” Cunningham will work directly acting Department of health co-directors Kate Donaldson and Dr. Jim Hinrichs and will provide clinical oversight to programs designed to prevent communicable diseases as well as those that respond to outbreaks of those illnesses.
In addition, she also will write, review, and authorize standing health orders and serve as DPH’s public health clinical advisor when clinical questions arise within public health programs.
“We are pleased to add a physician of Dr. Cunningham’s experience and abilities to our core leadership team,” said Donaldson.
“Her passion for fighting health inequities aligns with and will further advance DPH’s mission to protect the health of our entire community.”