Rock Island Today

Hospital and health system leaders are increasingly focusing on health equity as both a moral obligation and a strategic necessity. They cite changing expectations from payers, regulators, and communities as reasons for this renewed focus.

R. Guy Hudson, MD, president and CEO of Northern Light Health in Brewer, Maine, emphasized the need to use new advances such as artificial intelligence to improve care for all patients. “It’s time to double down,” Dr. Hudson said. “This has always been a priority for us — we take care of everyone, and we’ve never wavered from that goal. But I want to make sure some of the newer advances, especially with AI, can improve our ability to do that and expand our current capabilities. It’s up to us to strike that balance and continue serving everyone in a more thorough, complete and encompassing way.”

Wyatt Brieser, CEO of Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo, Illinois, described addressing health equity as “a moral imperative” and “strategic necessity.” He explained: “CEOs must stay closely connected to the shifting terrain of value-based care,” Mr. Brieser told Becker’s. “We must ensure that implementation works effectively for those with access and innovatively bridges gaps for those lacking resources. This means prioritizing community health initiatives, creative partnerships, local government alignment, strategic investment in pro bono services, and leveraging health tech solutions that improve in-house efficiencies and extend reach beyond our clinics. And we need to coordinate this with achieving a positive bottom line.”

Kerri Scanlon, MSN, RN—executive vice president at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York—said leadership roles now require advocacy on social determinants of health such as housing stability or access to medication: “It’s definitely part of the role, and I believe it will be even more integral over the next five years,” Ms. Scanlon said. “When we review the literature, we know that social determinants of health are shaped by the social environment in which patients live — whether they can afford medications, have air conditioning or live in safe stable housing. As leaders our job is to take a stand on these factors and work to improve those living conditions.”

Scanlon also highlighted efforts at Northwell Health including research into disparities like higher mortality rates among African-American mothers; behavioral health investments such as opening a 12,000-square-foot Behavioral Health Wellness Center; food security programs partnering with area food banks; pop-up thrift stores providing free clothing; and building talent pipelines through educational partnerships.

She noted: “How are we going to change that? We cannot simply talk about it; we must act. We’re doing that through research … and community wellness programs that educate and support people at the local level. That kind of action is critically essential.” She added regarding gun violence: “[Mr. Dowling] spoke so much about addressing gun violence… The No. 1 harm for children is gun violence — so how do we go about reducing that? Taking non-traditional approaches… The goal here is improvement of care not worrying about political sides.”

Both Dr. Hudson at Northern Light Health and Ms. Scanlon at Northwell see their leadership roles as setting an example within their organizations by making clear priorities around equity:

“By doing that you bring the entire organization with you… They help take care of everyone that walks through their door,” Dr Hudson said.

He concluded: “Looking at Northern Light Health now and in the future we’ll be here for generations to come… That ties back into social determinants & health equity — we look at it as serving everyone…”