Pre-COVID, many of us viewed our primary care, specialist or hospital-based physicians as trusted and skilled professionals in their crisp white coats with the embroidered logos of their practices or larger, parent health system.
Last November, three professional healthcare associations co-wrote and published an open letter to the American public. In the letter, the AHA, the ANA and AMA pleaded with us to follow recommended COVID-19 infection control protocols. Back then, eight months into our pandemic, the associations expressed what many of us across the health ecosystem felt and feel: “We are all weary,” they wrote.
The end of Haven Healthcare
When the formation of Haven Healthcare was announced in 2018, Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan, one of the sponsoring organizations (Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway were the other two) said, "The three of our companies have extraordinary resources, and our goal is to create solutions that benefit our U.S. employees, their families and, potentially, all Americans."
It's no secret that the US health system is in desperate need of repair. Structural inequities such as housing and food insecurity, air and water pollution, and access to educational and economic opportunities — known to the medical community as social determinants have been linked to disparate health outcomes for years. However, never in recent history have we so acutely and rapidly felt their affects as we have during the COVID-19 pandemic. United around the common purpose to improve overall population health, industry leaders must harness their collective power and influence to champion changes that will benefit the health of our nation.
Carman Ciervo, D.O., FACOFP, is the Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive at Jefferson Health New Jersey (JHNJ). As a member of the senior leadership team since 2010, Carman has played a key role in Jefferson Health of New Jersey’s continued growth and transformation, working directly on hospital and health system initiatives related to the employed-physician model, population health, and clinical excellence. He has also overseen the progressive growth of the Jefferson Health New Jersey (formerly Kennedy) Health Alliance, a consumer-friendly network of primary and specialty medical practices throughout southern New Jersey.
Barry H. Ostrowsky is President and Chief Executive Officer for RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey’s largest not-for-profit integrated health care delivery system and the largest private employer in the state. Mr. Ostrowsky joined Saint Barnabas Medical Center in 1991 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. He served in the same role at Barnabas Health, when the System was created in 1996. He assumed the title of President and Chief Operating Officer in 2010, and became President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2012. Prior, Mr. Ostrowsky was a Senior Partner in the law firm of Brach Eichler. He received a BA from Rutgers University and a JD from the University of Tennessee School of Law.
Andrew Baskin, MD, is Aetna’s Vice President, National Medical Director for Quality and Clinical Policy and served as the Interim Chief Medical Officer (in 2014). He works on initiatives to measure and improve quality of care, the provision of evidence based care, quality measurement implementation and public reporting, health plan accreditation, and the establishment of performance based networks. Additionally, Andy partners with others to help establish programs which create incentives for more effective and efficient care, influence and assure compliance with healthcare reform regulations, develop products to improve affordability and quality of care, and promote payment reform.
Lorie Shoemaker, DHA, RN, MSN, is the SVP and Chief Nursing Officer at CHI – Texas Division, where she is responsible for the oversight of the quality of nursing care and nursing practice across the acute and post-acute care continuum. Prior to joining CHI St. Luke’s Health, Dr. Shoemaker served in a variety of leadership roles over a 29-year career at Palomar Health in California, including the System Chief Nurse Executive. In this role, Dr. Shoemaker provided oversight for nursing care across the system that included three acute care hospitals, two skilled nursing facilities, as well as ambulatory and home health agencies.
Donna Mills is the Executive Director of Central Oregon Health Council. The Council convenes stakeholders across the health ecosystem to create and implement programs in service to the mission of better health, better care, and better value for healthcare in the Central Oregon Region. As a seasoned healthcare professional with experience in leadership positions in healthcare, finance, and operating management, Donna has a proven track record recommending and executing business and financial solutions and initiatives, ultimately contributing to an organization’s financial results.
