Peggy A. Honoré, DHA
Peggy A. Honoré, DHA
Peggy A. Honoré, DHA, is the AmeriHealth Caritas – General Russel Honoré Endowed Professor at Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Sciences Center School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Systems Management, and School of Medicine, Department of Medicine. She has a keen understanding of multidisciplinary collaboration given her extensive leadership experience in the diverse fields of higher education, private industry, healthcare and public health. Dr. Honoré defined and led the advancement of a field of study in public health finance, held executive level corporate and public-sector positions, and researched topics on the diverse topics of finance, disparities, quality, and workforce.
Dr. Honoré is currently advancing knowledge on the integration of public health concepts into healthcare through two programs that she created for LSU medical students and residents. The Health Policy Fellowship Program provides LSU medical students the opportunity to participate in health policy research while doing a summer fellowship in Congress or other DC-based organizations such as the Congressional Research Service, National Council of State Legislators, and American Public Health Association. The Population Health Management Clerkship Program offers LSU medical students and residents a rotation on location at AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana, a Medicaid managed care plan where they conduct research and develop improvement plans that often include public health interventions.
Dr. Honoré is recognized globally as a leading national authority on financing of public health systems. She is serving as an invited expert to the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region on financing of public health systems. She is a member of the WHO Coalition of Partners for Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services in Europe. Work has included missions to Ukraine, Denmark, Greece, Helsinki, and Slovenia.
Prior to returning fulltime to LSU in June 2015 she served for 8 years as the Director of the Public Health System, Finance and Quality Program in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In that role she led HHS-wide efforts to develop national concepts for quality in the public health system. Accomplishments include development of the HHS Consensus Statement on Quality in the Public Health System with participation from Directors of every HHS agency, development of the HHS report Priority Areas for Improvement of Quality in Public Health, and development of public health quality assessment tools used in clinical and public health settings.
Dr. Honoré served as a task force member on the collaboration between Arnhold Institute for Global Health in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Office of the UN Special Envoy. The task force developed the 2016 report Closing the Gaps: Applying global lessons towards sustainable community health models in the U.S. While at HHS she funded the development of a Health Navigator Associate’s Degree prototype curriculum. Her publication on the value of community colleges to educating the public health workforce and increasing educational attainment levels as a means of improving health is considered as a stimulus that aided in promoting public health education in community colleges. She is currently the LSU Health Science Center’s lead on a collaboration with Delgado Community College for the development of a Health Navigator Associate’s Degree.
Her professional experiences in health care administration and finance include roles as COO/CFO for a group of four medical clinics in New Orleans, corporate finance for Exxon Company USA and McDonald’s Corporation, Vice President for Finance and Administration at two universities, and Chief Science (Research) Officer and CFO for two state health departments. In 2006 she testified before and worked with a US Senate HELP subcommittee on the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act. In that role she conducted research to inform the work of the Senate Committee and provided language for inclusion in the law to support a $50 million appropriation for public health systems research.
Dr. Honoré served from 2012-2015 as a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Population Health and for two years (2013-2015) on the ASPPH’s Framing the Future: The Second 100 Years of Education for Public Health Task Force. In 2006 and 2007 she convened the first national conferences on public health finance and public health systems research with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as adjunct meetings of the Academy Health National Health Policy Conference in Washington DC. She has authored over 40 peer reviewed publications, book chapters, and governments reports. She has served since 2004 on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
Dr. Honoré holds adjunct titles at Tulane University and the Medical University of South Carolina. She was honored with three Teacher of the Year Awards from the University of Southern Mississippi and University of Texas-Tyler. She was also selected as a member of Delta Omega Society for her outstanding accomplishments to the field of public health. In 2014 she received both the American Public Health Association Award for Excellence in Health Administration and the National Medical Association Award for Health Systems Improvements to create standards of health policy, advocacy, and health equity.
Dr. Honoré earned a Doctorate in Health Administration (DHA) with honors (1st in class) from the Medical University of South Carolina and Master of Health Administration (MHA) from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She has an undergraduate degree in Accounting. She is a native of New Orleans and has one daughter, Cindy Crusto, who resides in New Haven, CT.
