5 Healthcare Leaders Who Focused on Community This Year

Read interviews with notable hospital and health system executives on their strategies to address their communities' needs in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the importance of addressing social determinants of health (SDoH), healthcare access, and the value of hospitals and health systems focusing on the needs of their communities.

HealthLeaders spoke with healthcare executives across the country who are implementing initiatives to support the communities they serve by addressing health inequities, investing in community programs, and combatting racial health disparities.

Below are five healthcare executive interviews worth checking out from 2020.

1. Supporting Community and Workforce at Saint Mary's Regional: 4 Questions with Newly Appointed CEO

Robert "Bob" Honeycutt joined Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center in Russellville, Arkansas in April as CEO.

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he spoke with HealthLeaders about his goals and his interest in caring for and showing support for the local community and his workforce.

"Throughout my career," Honeycutt said, "I have enjoyed working in mid-size rural communities where the local hospital is both a leading employer and community partner."

2. Answering the Call: CommonSpirit Strives to End Health Inequalities

CommonSpirit Health COO Marvin O'Quinn spoke with HealthLeaders about how the health system is living up to its mission during the COVID-19 pandemic by working to end social and health inequalities.

"The core of our mission, and who we are, is to care for the poor, the underserved, the vulnerable, and the voiceless," O'Quinn said. "We're a large healthcare system, but we are based on a sound, spiritual mission orienting our resources towards helping everyone."

3. 3 Community-based Strategies Health Systems Can Implement Right Now

Earlier this year, RWJBarnabas Health CEO Barry Ostrowsky spoke with HealthLeaders about the New Jersey–based health system's communities initiatives.

Ostrowsky shared how the health system designed its 2020 initiatives to focus on how it can help and invest in its communities, despite the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The state is wrestling with its own fiscal crisis of incredible proportions, and so its ability to create meaningful, durable, long-lasting safety net programs is limited," Ostrowsky said. "So, we need to step into that breach and address that."

4. OSU Wexner Medical Center's Anti-Racism Action Plan Aims to Address 'Direct Line Between Racial Discrimination and Health Outcomes'

During the summer, Dr. Harold Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at the Ohio State University, and CEO of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, spoke with HealthLeaders about the medical center and university's anti-racism action plan, and the organization's strategy to address SDoH.

(just a sentence about the George Floyd protests and reckoning on racial issues)

"I would say that racism is a social determinant of health, because of the challenges that it puts in front of individuals who are affected by it, and how it affects their health overall," Paz said. "And we know there's ample evidence from a number of studies that show, on the basis of race, there are real differences in health status and longevity."

5. How CHA HPMC is Helping Support the Needs of its Community

Marcel Loh, the president and CEO of CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, recently spoke with HealthLeaders where he detailed how the pandemic is affecting the organization, the hospitals' expansion including the construction of a new patient tower, and the strategies he's looking forward to implementing in 2021.

"I've got a broad base of experience, which I think serves to bring some value to my current role here at Hollywood Presbyterian. This is an opportunity for me to bring all that skill to a large urban center, inner city hospital that serves unique needs of various constituents across Los Angeles," Loh said. "I'm happy to be a part of that process, because it's given me a new look on life for what it really is to meet the challenges of an inner city hospital, and the unique needs of the community here."