Redlands, California— Since Dr. Este Geraghty first encountered GIS while working on her master’s degree in public health, she quickly understood that geography and health share an important link. In her new role as Esri’s health and human services industry manager, Dr. Geraghty plans to explore new ways geography can transform community health and modernize social services.
"As a physician, it’s obvious to me that you can’t tear apart place and health," said Dr. Geraghty. "I’m thrilled to join Esri and look forward to making geospatial technology an integral part of the landscape in health and human services. My goal is that years from now, people will just expect to find geography in health."
Before joining Esri, Dr. Geraghty was a practicing physician in general internal medicine at the UC Davis Health System. She also served as the deputy director of the Center for Health Statistics and Informatics at the California Department of Health, where she led the launch of the state’s first open health data portal. The portal exposed actionable information from official state records and relies on maps to help visitors visualize data. For example, Dr. Geraghty and her team used Esri technology to create an interactive map of birth weights in California from 1989 to 2012.
"We are excited to have an experienced physician with Este’s wealth of experience and knowledge leading our health team," said Esri president Jack Dangermond. "As both a medical professional and a proven advocate for integrating health and technology, Este brings a unique understanding of policy and science that will help us develop meaningful solutions for health and human services organizations."
Dr. Geraghty will share her vision for geography in health and human services at the upcoming Esri Health GIS Conference. The event, which will be held November 3–5 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will emphasize how geography improves every aspect of health and human services, from epidemiology and social services to program administration and facility operations.
For more information about GIS in health and human services, visit esri.com/health. For more information about the Esri Health GIS Conference, visit esri.com/healthgis.