With twenty-five plus years of professional experience in healthcare and public health, Dr. Swannie Jett has become the “people’s champion.” This phrase is what continues to drive him to serve others as the current CEO at Park Duvalle Community Health Center (PDCHC) in Louisville, Kentucky.
A graduate of the University of Kentucky’s Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program, Dr. Jett previously did not know much about the field. In fact, his educational bachelor’s and master’s focused on Biosystems Engineering Technology and Agricultural Statistics.
While attending the Kentucky Public Health Association (KPHA) Conference, Dr. Jett connected with the late John Sterling Wiggs, the associate dean for Admissions and Student Affairs at UK at the time. Wiggs started the conversation with Dr. Jett about advancing his education in public health.
Dr. Jett's mentor, Dr. F. Douglas Scutchfield, who established UK's College of Public Health in 2004, and Dr. Joel Lee, former assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Environmental Health, continued the conversation and encouraged him to obtain an advanced degree.
“They told me that I was the right person for the program,” said Dr. Jett. “Because of my real-world experience, they believed I could improve the community and elevate how the health department was viewed with an advanced degree.”
In 2004, Dr. Jett enrolled in the DrPH program and applied what he was learning to his role as the manager for Clinical Operations at the Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness (1998 - 2009) and the Executive Director for the Bullitt County Health Department (2009 – 2013). At BCHD, he advocated and won a Smoke-Free Policy decision in Appeals Court. Dr. Jett achieved these accomplishments while balancing academic and military commitments. He deployed to Iraq in 2006 and had his textbooks mailed to him to complete the fall semester.
Dr. Jett also brought his real-world experience to the class and helped mold the experiences for future students. "Our dialogue in the classroom went beyond the classroom," said Dr. Jett. "It's one thing to practice it in theory, it's another to bring application to the practitioner’s experience. We wanted to bridge that disconnect and pushed our professors to write the academic books differently."
He continued that philosophy while teaching health equity, epidemiology, strategic planning, global health, and leadership courses at Tufts University School of Medicine, Northeastern University, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. “I wanted to teach more than theory but provide understanding of how it actually operates in the real world,” said Dr. Jett.
Dr. Jett became the CEO of the PDCHC, a leading independent and not-for-profit health center in Louisville, Kentucky, in September 2021. Founded in 1968, PDCHC is the oldest center in Kentucky, with over 250 staff members and a $22 million operating budget.
Before joining PDCHC, Dr. Jett spent nine years in city and county health, serving as CEO/Health Commissioner of the Florida Department of Health in Seminole County (2013-2016) and Health Commissioner at Brookline Health and Human Services (2017-2021) in Massachusetts.
PDCHC offers the following services: preventive health, primary adult and pediatric medical care, women’s health, family planning, primary dental care including dental hygiene, behavioral health services, social services, nutrition counseling, immunizations, pharmacy, X-ray, laboratory, Women, Infants and Children’s Program (WIC), enrollment, and transportation services.
The health center is growing exponentially and will have 10 sites in Kentucky by quarter four of 2022. "We are moving to a patient-first experience with state-of-the-art facilities," said Dr. Jett. "We want to deliver a great patient experience and be their first choice in their care. In addition, we are investing in our future through our people, technology, resources, and infrastructure."
Dr. Jett's investment in people also stretches into his personal life. As an Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated member, Dr. Jett is deeply committed to mentorship and servant leadership through his fraternity's four Cardinal Principles: manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift.
“My focus on giving back to the community is constant,” said Dr. Jett. “Through my time with Omega Psi Phi and serving on five boards currently, I volunteer my services and time helping the homeless, breast cancer, veterans and disabilities, HIV services, and collaborating with schools. I also started the Jett Legacy Foundation which will expand on certain programs like men's health."
At the start of the ongoing COVID pandemic, Dr. Jett believes that the community did not know about the important work he was doing during his years of public health service, but that has now changed.
"People didn't know what I did, but now they know what I do every day," said Dr. Jett. "People knew that I did my research and that I was honest, candid, stood by my morals and with integrity. They knew that I was about saving people's lives. I became the people's champion and an asset."
To educate the new generation of public health leaders, Dr. Jett believes that you cannot just look at the numbers on a spreadsheet. Students, researchers, and practitioners must go into communities and see for themselves what factors are impacting public health. Furthermore, Dr. Jett recommends building relationships with the influencers who have access and collaborating with them to change important public health policies.
"If you want to be a part of the solution, then this is how you find your way to public health," said Dr. Jett. "We need to do a better job of educating the community on what's associated with public health. We do so much and should tout ourselves more."
Dr. Jett was the first Black health official in many of his previous positions and being recognized during Black History Month means a lot. He encourages everyone to learn the history and value of mentorship.
"It's one thing to celebrate Black History Month; but it's important to celebrate and educate throughout the year, including teaching Black and African history," said Dr. Jett. "I want to educate people and share my knowledge so they can be great in all fields. I want to help all people, no matter the race, and want them to be the best person they can be."
Dr. Jett is certainly a champion for public health and is indeed a "people's champion" every day, and each month, of the year.
