Edith Killins
Director Wayne County Department of Health and Human Services
PASSION FOR HEALTH EQUITY
By Melody Moore
The fifth of 13 children, Kill
ins saw her mother as a consumer of mental health services. Due to those challenges, the Detroit native and her 12 other siblings were raised by her aunt. As director of the Wayne County Department of Health and Human Services, Killins is now able to help others who are in similar situations by establishing a structure for services for Wayne County families and businesses.
“My biological mother was a mental health consumer, so being the director of the 13th largest county’s health department gives me an opportunity to share my passion with people.” Part of the reason why I am here is because I had a strong aunt who took in her nieces and nephews,” said Killins. But during those trying times, Killins learned valuable life lessons including how to advocate for yourself, sharing with others, not being bullied, customer service, teambuilding and democracy. “In a family that large you learn a lot of life lessons. I learned early on in life that you can’t allow people to take advantage without finding out what you can do and not getting help for what you can’t do.”
Killins oversees the county’s largest department, which operates at $700 million and includes eight divisions. These divisions are the county’s Public Health, Mental Health, Patient Care Management System, Wayne County Head Start, Jail Health Services, Medical Examiner’s Office, Wayne County Library, Wayne County HIPAA Compliance and Wayne County Health Choice.
In 2003 Killins joined the department as deputy director and was promoted to director in 2006. Under her leadership, she has focused on streamlining services and providing innovative ways of reaching their consumers. “We are looking into more evolution as the economy changes so should the way we deliver services. We have included a one- stop shop, so if a consumer enters the mental health department, we will also inform them of public health services or other services they need.”
She has also worked for the State of Michigan for 23 years. The Detroit Public School graduate holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a Master of Business Administration degree in health care management from Oakland University. Community service is very important to Killins, for the past three years, she has served as president of the Friends of Osborn Alumni Association, where high school seniors were awarded scholarships to provide them access to many opportunities. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Personally, Killins plans to teach courses in human services or access to healthcare and to spend more time in her church, Detroit Love Tabernacle Church of God in Christ. “I enjoy people and I understand what health services they need. I am always interested in learning about resources so when I meet people I am able to share those resources with them and I can talk about work 24 hours a day.”
As a proud mother, Killins’ 26-year-old son will be attending law school in the fall, which is a dream she has always wanted to pursue. Killins said her life’s inspiration is from a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” She made a career of pursuing a passion – helping others obtain access to healthcare so equality can exist.
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