06/03/2025-
Kofi Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP, serves as the first Food As Medicine Director at Elevance Health, where he leads food-related initiatives that work as part of healthcare to treat diet-related chronic conditions including diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. He works across the organization to drive a comprehensive view of health which includes access to nutritious and culturally relevant food. A community pediatrician by training, and clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences, Dr. Essel has dedicated his career to strengthening healthcare and public health workforce training, reducing health disparities, and improving health outcomes.Dr. Essel recently shared his thoughts on Food as Medicine and the types of innovative programs that can address lifestyle-related chronic disease through novel food interventions…..
