Before heading into work as the MetroHealth CEO, Dr. Airica Steed begins every day with pure silence. She gets dressed in silence, and she drives in silence: a daily meditation to center herself on her core values that motivate her as the first woman, the first Black person, and the first nurse to lead MetroHealth in its nearly 200-year existence.
Steed moved to Cleveland in 2022 to head MetroHealth on the heels of the controversial ousting of Akram Boutros. But, as a fourth-generation nurse, her story goes back more than a century to her great-grandmother who delivered babies as a nurse-midwife in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
“I started out my journey following in the footsteps of my ancestors by going into nursing,” Steed says, “but I was also inspired by my father’s side of the family who were self-made entrepreneurs and really built themselves from nothing, so I always had it in my heart and in my mind that I was going to be able to blend the best of both worlds.”
Her drive and determination were evident from a young age: As a competitive athlete, she ran at the Junior Olympic Games. In her career, Steed set her sights on addressing issues of health inequity after she had a front-row seat to watching health disparities play out in front of her.
“I was 23 years old when my mother was robbed from me,” says Steed. “She was 46 years old, so turning 46 is a pretty significant milestone to me and one that pulls my heartstrings and triggers me because my mother didn’t live past her 46th birthday.”
The long-story-short, Steed says, is that her mother was misdiagnosed from what turned out to be a rare form of leukemia. Throughout the process, Steed saw the ramifications of misdiagnosis, mistreatment, withheld information, and what it looks like when patients’ concerns are dismissed.
She saw it again, when both of her grandmothers died of breast cancer — and again, just two years ago, when her younger sister also passed away from the disease after being denied a mammogram at 36 years old, only to die before she reached her 40th birthday.
“I was a registered nurse. My mother was a registered nurse. Her mother was a registered nurse, and her grandmother was a registered nurse. They all dedicated themselves to this profession that, unfortunately, played out as an unfortunate tragedy,” Steed says. “I saw this and I felt trapped in my own body as I witnessed this.”
Steed and her mother both shared a strong work ethic, a passion for helping others — and an affinity for mindless TV. (Steed’s mother was an avid All My Children fan, and named her daughter after a character on the show.)
Her family’s many losses symbolized for Steed how the American health care system is broken, and marked a turning point in her career where she began to focus on health equity. In her first year as CEO, MetroHealth partnered with the Vernon Family Foundation to host the Multicultural Women’s Health Fair & Empowerment Expo.
In Chicago, Steed was an inaugural member of the South Side Health Community Organization and Wellness West, whose collaborative work is credited with reducing chronic disease and health disparities, and increasing life expectancy. Steed occasionally returns to the Windy City for a slice of its deep-dish pizza, but she loves calling Cleveland her new home. She lives in Pepper Pike with her husband, Charles, their four children and two dogs.
“I’m a huge family advocate, so my children really help me unwind and unpack the armor,” Steed says. “I’m so proud and so fortunate, but at the same time, I know I’m surrounded by the love and support of my loved ones who helped position me here.”
Airica Recommends:
Chicago-Style Giardiniera: “This pickled-pepper relish is one of Chicago’s signature foods. It gives a flavor bomb to anything you put it on. Get the hot version. Once you’ve had it, you will never touch a bland banana pepper again.”
Finding Me by Viola Davis: “She is one of the people I deeply admire. She has survived struggles and has kept her head held high through it all. In this memoir, she is fearless and honest about her struggles overcoming adversity.”
Kuşadası, Turkey: “If you’re looking for a wonderful place to travel to outside of the United States, this is it. This beach resort town on Turkey’s western Aegean coast will exceed your wildest expectations.”
Mallorca in Cleveland: “Serving Spanish and Portuguese cuisine, this is one of my favorite restaurants in Cleveland.”
Airica Steed, photographed at the new MetroHealth campus.
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