Over 61 million Americans report a disability yet current healthcare is poorly equipped to communicate and care for them. Health and health care inequities are substantial for these individuals. Rethinking and redesigning our healthcare is needed to address these inequities and care for these individuals effectively. Examples of model clinics, programs, and training can inform us on how this can be done.

Michael McKee, CDHW Co-Director, is a family physician with clinical and research expertise in disability health. As a physician with a hearing loss, he is especially interested in advocating for the rights of Deaf and hard-of-hearing patients to obtain equitable health care, including accessible communication. His research focus includes health disparities for individuals with various disabilities, health information accessibility, health literacy, and telemedicine applications.

Dr. McKee is on board of the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL). He is also currently an appointed member of the Roundtable on Health Literacy of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. He also serves on the Academy Health Disabilities Research Interest Group (IG) Advisory Committee, Member.