By Jacqueline Douge
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a demand for addressing the health and wellness needs of communities of color in Frederick. The pandemic brought to light the health inequities that plagued Black and Brown communities that are overlooked. Facing these problems head on requires a compassionate leader with the skills, expertise, courage, and kin for improving the health of the community. When Danielle vocalized an underlying need on the city’s west side to medical professionals and elected officials during the pandemic’s peak, she knew she was the only one ready, willing, and capable of doing the job.
Have you heard of Danielle Haskin? Well, if you haven’t, then you will now.
I recently interviewed Danielle about her role as the Director of the Frederick County Health Department’s Office of Equity, her vision, and key initiatives implemented under her leadership to address health outcomes in Frederick County.
Danielle Haskin is the first Director of the Frederick County Health Department’s (FCHD) Office of Equity and has the experience and knowledge to lead the FCHD efforts to address health inequities. Danielle shared that she’s been “involved in community service for my entire life.” Her career has focused on meeting the community’s needs, whether through her public health non-profit that provided health education to historically marginalized communities, planning community events, and providing technical assistance to community organizations about grant funding to leading the County’s response to COVID-19 through increasing access to testing and vaccinations.
Haskin’s vision for promoting health equity within Frederick County “is that there will be a deeper connection with organizations that serve our community, allowing public health to truly be the gap filler. Understanding there are phenomenal organizations, faith-based, community-based nonprofits, and businesses alike have joined efforts to address health inequities and honestly call out systemic racism as the cause.” She wants a deeper connection between FCHD and those organizations that serve the community.
Key initiatives and strategies implemented under Danielle’s leadership to enhance health outcomes and inclusivity include addressing Black maternal health, creating a community presence for the office and health department, creating equity grants for community agencies to lead health efforts, and advocating that community member volunteers receive compensation for their time and lived experience.
To build a community presence for the Office of Equity, Danielle advocated that the office be initially used as a community COVID-19 testing clinic and then become the Frederick County Health Department on the Golden Mile, a satellite office where the Office of Equity is located. During COVID-19, the office became a trusted location for community members to ask for other services and resources. Danielle has expanded the office to better serve the needs and provide resources for the community not only offered by the Health Department, but also providing a space for other local and state organizations to offer their services at the Golden Mile office such as the Division of Aging and Independence, Energy and Environment, Frederick County Public Libraries, and others. She stated that she “quickly recognized the opportunity to partner and provide resources that address various vital conditions for health and wellbeing.”
Danielle refers to the work that addresses Black maternal health as the Black maternal health movement. She calls it a movement “because while I am facilitating in the background the FCHD three-phase initiative that included identifying root causes, drivers, and protective factors for adverse outcomes in Black families, several people have been and are simultaneously working in this area before attention and funding were available.”
The approach to Danielle Haskin’s leadership is to serve the community in which she lives and works. This is exemplified in her response to what inspired her to take on the leadership role to address health disparities, particularly within the Black Community of Frederick.
“When I was hired to lead the COVID-19 testing efforts, my first thought was how can I position myself so that resources… going directly to us as a government agency can be used to support efforts led by the community.” – Danielle Haskin
Now you know about Danielle Haskin.
She promotes health equity in Frederick County and centers the community’s voice and lived experiences. Her work not only focuses on community collaboration but also amplifies their voices. This is exemplified in her work to address Black maternal health disparities and ensure that her office is connected to the community.