Infectious Disease Specialist Virginia Banks to Speak on Structural Racism in Health Care

“Structural Racism and Health Care: Let’s Have a Conversation” is the topic for this year’s Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, MD. Lectureship in Medicine, to be presented virtually Wednesday, April 7, from noon-1 p.m. 

Each year, Northeast Ohio Medical University presents a distinguished speaker, normally in the auditorium named for the family of the late Chatrchai Watanakunakorn, M.D., a hospital epidemiologist and chief of infectious diseases at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown as well as a professor of internal medicine at NEOMED. 

Virginia D. Banks, M.D., M.B.A., who was also the 2019 recipient of the Watanakunakorn Clinician Award, is this year’s speaker. An infectious disease specialist in the Youngstown, Ohio area, Dr. Banks has been recognized by the Board of the Infectious Diseases Society of America for her outstanding accomplishments in the clinical practice of infectious diseases. 

Dr. Banks earned a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and has practiced medicine for more than 40 years. She was the scheduled speaker for the 2020 Lectureship, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With this year’s event being held virtually, due to COVID-19 precautions, members of the public are invited to view it, too. To obtain a Zoom link, contact Vanessa Painter at vpainter@neomed.edu or call 330.325.6325.