For Black History Month, Legacy Salutes Dr. Ann Barnes

By India Ogazi

This Black History Month, Legacy Community Health salutes Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ann Barnes.

Barnes — a proud native of Houston’s Fifth Ward —has served Houston’s underserved patient populations for close to 20 years. Since joining Legacy in 2014, she has been instrumental in introducing a social determinants approach to improve patients’ health.

Before joining Legacy, Barnes spearheaded a nationally recognized pilot project, Healthy Harvest, bringing farmer’s markets into several of Harris Health’s community health centers located in food deserts. Additionally, in 2007, she established a first-of-its-kind National Institutes of Health registry to understand factors that lead to successful weight loss maintenance in African Americans.

Barnes is involved in a variety of community efforts and boards including Early Matters, Communities in Schools Houston, Houston YMCA Association, Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute and Kinder Urban Research Institute. Barnes earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and her master’s in public health degree from UT School of Public Health.