Health Equity Leadership
Each person should have access to health resources to live their healthiest life. Health outcomes are different, and some are dependent on your zip code. This category is for a leader in health equity, improving outcomes, education, and understanding. Better care starts with physicians who understand the patients they serve, and increased access to medical education. Past winners include Sachin Jain, MD.
Jay Bhatt, D.O., MPH, MPA, FACP is the Sharp Index Awards Health Equity leader of 2022. Dr Bhatt is a physician executive, internist, geriatrician, public health innovator, and widely quoted expert on healthcare transformation and improving healthcare outcomes. These include cross-sector initiatives; the application of predictive analytics and informatics; using Medicare and Medicaid as opportunities to redesign the healthcare system; addressing the social determinants of health to lower costs, improve outcomes and eliminate inequities; technology innovation; and emergency preparedness. In addition to working in a community health clinic in Chicago, Dr. Bhatt is the Managing Director of Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and Deloitte Health Equity Institute. His collaborative partnerships and team are part of an investment of 1.5 billion dollars in health equity. Dr. Bhatt has coined the phrase "Health Equity is America's chronic care condition" and been a leader who focuses on investment in communities and the economic advantage of health equity.
Airica Steed, Ed.D, MBA, RN, CSSMBB, FACHE, IASSC is the CEO of a public hospital that cares for all people, regardless of the color of their skin, where they live, or their ability to pay. As the first Black woman to hold the post, she also realizes many people are counting on her to be doubly dedicated to ensuring all people have access to good care. Dr. Airica Steed knows she is expected to fight passionately for equal health, but she wants everyone to know that her drive to ensure everyone has an equal chance at a long healthy life is more personal than that. Her work at The MetroHealth System (Ohio) shines the light on the pursuit of health equity, eradicating healthcare disparities, and putting an end to the pervasive disparities that have impacted our communities for centuries.
Richard Ferguson, MD MBA, the Chief Medical officer of Health Choice Utah, is also the founder of Black Physicians of Utah. Among the organization's many offerings, they encourage black undergraduate students to consider medical school and offer free mentorship and support opportunities. They are launching the Black Men’s Mental Health Forum in February 2023. There is not enough equitable and culturally competent access to mental health resources in the Black community and Ferguson is working to change that. this project is funded by a grant from the NBA Player’s Association.
Gina Cooper Benjamin, MPP, joined the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) in 2021. She uses technology and data for social good. She has spent almost 20 years working in under-resourced communities and with under-served populations to close education and housing gaps. Gina serves on two boards working towards equity, inclusion, and belonging outcomes. She’s passionate about introducing Black and Brown youth to technology and coding programs. She created a “Hacking IT” where she teaches teenage girls to get loud, get political, and get tech-ing. Before completing her Masters of Public Policy from Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Program as a Neighborhood Fellow, Gina graduated from Wellesley College as a Davis Scholar and then earned a certificate in nonprofit management and leadership from the Institute for Nonprofit Practice.
Layo George, RN MHSA is making a difference in women's health. In response to the nationwide maternal health crisis facing black women, Layo founded an organization called Wolomi that provides resources and guidance to improve the experiences and outcomes for black women during their perinatal periods. As a quality improvement specialist, Layo has worked on many life-changing projects for the D.C. Department of Health’s immunization program, Medstar Harbor Health in Baltimore, MD., and Mayo Health System in Eau Claire, WI. She is being nominated additionally for her work as the founder of Wolomi, which provides resources and guidance to improve the experiences and outcomes for black women during their perinatal periods.
Dr. Gibbons's career has been dedicated to solving some of life’s most challenging health problems, including improving health among racial and ethnic minorities and using digital technologies to improve health beyond the hospital's walls. He is also the Founder and CEO of The Greystone Group. His vision is to enable any city, community, home, or other environments, including those in underserved communities, to become spaces allowing healthcare delivery and promoting health, well-being, education, and economic development through new digital ecosystems. Dr. Gibbons is also an external health equity and innovation adviser to the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Center for Health Equity.
Dr. Bechara Choucair, MD MHA is currently the Senior Vice president and Chief Health Officer for the Kaiser Foundation Health plan. Within the organization, he oversees the efforts to address the social health of its members and people who live in the communities it serves. This work includes creating the nation’s most prominent social health network, integrated with Kaiser Permanente’s health care services, to meet its members' housing, food, and transportation needs.
The HHS Perinatal Improvement Collaborative with Premier, Inc The HHS Perinatal Improvement Collaborative "is the first to evaluate how pregnancy affects overall population health by linking inpatient data of newborns to their mothers." The initiative involves a two-pronged approach that uses data from mothers and infants to identify drivers of preventable harm and death.
Shannon is a team builder, mentor, speaker, author, and entrepreneur. As the CEO and president of Brightwork Health, she has a positive leading voice in all areas of consulting and brings positive, meaningful change to her organization, solving some of the most complicated healthcare implementations. Epps works hard building mentoring relationships for women-owned technology and development firms. The tech consulting industry is still very much led by men. Her organization is one of few LGBTQ-owned firms.
Past Health Equity Leaders
in 2021, Sachin Jain MD MBA made organizational goals to improve Health Equity and outcomes. Bonuses were dependent on success. Jain became one of the only CEO leaders who has made the success of a project improving healthcare for others part of the job of healthcare.