Leana S. Wen Quotes

Leana S. Wen

Birth : January 27, 1983

Public health is a powerful tool to level that playing field, to bend the arc of our country away from distrust and disparities and back towards equity and justice.

Leana S. Wen

We went through substantial periods of being dependent on some type of government service, whether food stamps, WIC, Medicaid, children's health insurance. And I had an acute awareness as a child of what happens when people go without access to health care. I also had an acute awareness that people's lives were not valued the same.

Leana S. Wen

It is imperative that we address the barriers to access and the systemic racism that we know is contributing to our astronomically high maternal mortality rates. The onus must be on the health care system to make necessary changes.

Leana S. Wen

Public health relies on public trust. Admitting mistakes and explaining prompt corrective actions engender that trust.

Leana S. Wen

In order to improve maternal health, we have to focus on improving all women's health and access to care - not just during labor and delivery, but before and after pregnancy, and throughout our lives.

Leana S. Wen

In December of 1990, just before my eighth birthday, I left China for the United States. My father was a political dissident, and after he was released from prison, we joined my mother in a little town in the mountains of Utah. It was quite a change from my hometown of Shanghai, a city of 25 million people.

Leana S. Wen

Of the many lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic thus far, two of the most critical are the need for effective national leadership and clear, consistent communication. Countries that fared well had both in abundance; those that didn't often faltered.

Leana S. Wen

Public health depends on winning over hearts and minds. It's not enough to just have a good policy, you have to convince people to actually follow it.

Leana S. Wen

In my life as an immigrant living in low-income communities, as an emergency physician and as a public health advocate, I have seen more preventable deaths than I can count or recall.

Leana S. Wen

What needs to happen in a public health crisis? The federal government must establish a national roadmap with clear goals and evidence-based policy guidance.

Leana S. Wen

As a former local health official, I can tell you that local health departments are chronically understaffed and do not have the capacity to analyze scientific reports and synthesize them into policies and regulations.

Leana S. Wen

Driving is an activity that carries risk, which can be reduced by following the speed limit and wearing a seat belt.

Leana S. Wen

If children cannot see, they cannot learn; if they have untreated medical conditions, they cannot focus in school.

Leana S. Wen

If someone is told they have depression or addiction, why don't we allow them the same compassion and time for healing as if they were diagnosed with high blood pressure or diabetes? These are all illnesses for which treatment exists and recovery is possible.

Leana S. Wen

My parents and I entered the U.S. legally, but when it was time for our visa extension, we were turned down. Returning to China meant imprisonment for my father and persecution for my family. We were days from being forced to live here illegally when we were granted political asylum. Other families are not so lucky.

Leana S. Wen

Public health works by using evidence to lessen harm.

Leana S. Wen

Inaction will always have a disproportionate impact on those who are the most disadvantaged.

Leana S. Wen

The higher the rate of covid-19 in a community, the more likely any one individual you come into contact with has the virus and the riskier your interactions become.

Leana S. Wen

When hospitals close, ambulance times can increase dramatically, and the additional wait often means the difference between life and death.

Leana S. Wen

Improvements in global public health must begin locally, and must be driven by leaders who will learn the hard lessons from COVID-19.

Leana S. Wen