Why Doctors’ Civic Engagement Matters—and How It Can Help Fix a Broken Health System
22 Dec 2025
In her recent Times Union commentary, Dr. Stella Safo makes a powerful case for why physicians should step beyond the clinic and into civic life to address the systemic problems plaguing American healthcare. Dr. Safo, an HIV primary care physician and co-founder and Executive Director of Civic Health Alliance, highlights how doctors are increasingly experiencing “moral injury”—the psychological harm that occurs when clinicians witness preventable suffering caused by policy decisions.
She describes a patient who is medically ready for discharge but unable to leave the hospital because losing SNAP food benefits meant returning to an empty apartment with no food. This situation illustrates how deeply social and political policies affect health outcomes. Rather than remaining neutral, Dr. Safo argues physicians have a moral responsibility to engage civically because many of the conditions that influence patient health—including access to nutrition, shelter, safety, and supportive social services—are shaped by government decisions.
She reminds us that health is not only shaped in hospital wards, but also in legislative chambers, and that physicians’ voices carry unique moral authority that can be used to advance systemic change.