2022 Power Players in Health Care

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Dean Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, is a leader in epidemiology and geriatric medicine. Trained in cardiovascular and chronic disease epidemiology and geriatrics, she has dedicated her career to the science of healthy aging and prevention of frailty, disability, and cardiovascular disease. A renowned scientist, she has led seminal work in defining frailty as a new clinical syndrome and has led major population-based studies to determine the causes and consequences of chronic diseases, multimorbidity, loneliness, and disability in aging.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
I chose my career as a general internist and geriatrician to contribute to care of those who are sick and prevention of disease and disability. As a geriatrician, I focused on the systems of care for optimizing health and function for older adults. I then chose to create the bases at the community and population levels to prevent disease, cognitive decline, disability, and frailty in association with aging and to create healthy longevity for all.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
We need to move from a too-fragmented episodic system to a coordinated continuum of primary care for both treatment and prevention, for people at all ages and stages of health. This needs to include a strengthened public health system that can deliver the conditions that can create longer health futures for all New Yorkers.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
The evidence suggests that an age-friendly public health system could significantly increase the health of the population with a high return on investment, and training and deployment of more geriatricians to care for our aging population should deliver more satisfactory care at lower cost.

What does the future of health care look like?
It needs to include a redesigned public health system that can promote health and prevent disease in every community in New York, creating the conditions for health across our longer lives and into the oldest ages — for all; this approach should decrease health disparities. This needs to be complemented by primary care available to all, with a focus on prevention of disease and disability at every age for individuals, as well as effective treatment.

Richard Friedman was born in the Bronx and grew up in a middle class family. He played basketball through high school and at Brown University, where he attended college. Mr. Friedman went to business school at the University of Chicago and has had a 42-year career at Goldman Sachs, where he is currently chairman of the Asset Management Division. He serves as co-chair of the Board of Trustees at Mount Sinai Health System and is on the Board of Brown University. He is married with two children.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
I decided that health care is one of my top philanthropic priorities; nothing is more important in our community. I am also blessed to have a son who became a neuro-oncologist and joined the medical community.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
We are suffering from a serious staffing shortage of nurses. Covid has taken a tremendous toll on our people: physical and emotional. Despite all of our efforts to retain our team, we’ve had attrition like we’ve never seen before. It’s all about quality caregivers and our physicians.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
We need more education and communication to people in our communities. Unfortunately, the underserved suffer from a lack of awareness of how to access our health care system and what they need.

What does the future of health care look like?
We face many challenges, but the medical breakthroughs have been tremendous. We need to take our scientific breakthroughs to the general public in an affordable and equitable manner.

Debra Furr-Holden, PhD,  an epidemiologist and advocate for health equity, is dean of New York University’s School of Global Public Health. Dr. Furr-Holden is a public health professional with expertise in health disparities. She joined NYU from Michigan State University, where she was the C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health. Her appointments include: director, Flint Center for Health Equity Solutions, College of Human Medicine; Greater Flint’s Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Inequity; Michigan’s Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities; and New York City’s African American Covid-19 Task Force.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
Health care and promoting the health of populations was a calling. I lost both parents to chronic health conditions at an early age. My father died at 37 due to unmanaged hypertension and my mother died at 56 from an asthma attack. My oldest living first-degree relative never saw age 70. Dealing with the complexities of ensuring longevity and quality of life has to include a health care system that works for all people.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
In New York, like many cities across the globe, the need and demand for high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care exceeds what we are able to provide our residents. Simply having the resources and innovations in health care without the assurance that everyone is a beneficiary is perhaps our greatest gap to fill. Health care providers are similarly under-resourced to address the structural drivers of patient health.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
New York State could improve access to affordable health care by addressing the structural barriers people face. This includes factors like adequate insurance coverage and transportation. Implementing these strategies alongside policies to remedy poverty and other social determinants of health offer the greatest promise. Policies that protect the rights of individuals facing a health crisis are also needed given that many people delay or do not seek health care because they cannot afford it.

What does the future of health care look like?
The future of health care must be anchored in health equity. I see a future where all people have self-efficacy to live long and healthy lives. That includes unfettered access to high-quality and affordable health care. The goal is to level-set the health care system and match resources to need in order to ensure that all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or gender identity, insurance status or socioeconomic status have access to high-quality and affordable health care.

Kenneth Gibbs has served as president and CEO for Maimonides Medical Center since January 2016. In this role, Mr. Gibbs oversees various services and specialized care centers that cater to Brooklyn’s residents, including treatment facilities for heart and vascular care, cancer and breast care, and orthopedic care. Before being appointed to his current position, Mr. Gibbs served on the Board of Trustees and as chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, where he facilitated a strategic partnership between Maimonides Medical Center and North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System.

Representing Manhattan’s District 75 since 1971, Richard Gottfried has chaired the Assembly Health Committee since 1987. Assemblymember Gottfried has sponsored a long and diverse list of laws: the Health Care Proxy Law, the law decriminalizing syringes, the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, as well as legislation for expanded access to health care, patient autonomy, reproductive choice, civil liberties, and human rights. His New York Health Act would create universal single-payer publicly-funded health coverage, and he consistently fights to protect and increase health care funding. Assemblymember Gottfried is a full-time legislator, but is retiring at the end of this year.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
Before becoming Health Committee chair in 1987, I had worked on a few health issues: the HIV epidemic, environmental health, prenatal care, and others. When the committee chairmanship opened up, it looked like an interesting opportunity, so I asked then-Speaker Mel Miller to appoint me, which he did. Best thing that happened in my professional career.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
Health care is increasingly dominated by large entities, and insurance companies are beginning to take over health care providers. This economic transformation undermines professionalism and proper care.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
The only answer is universal single-payer coverage. Getting insurance companies out of the picture saves more than enough to end deductibles, copays, and restricted provider networks; cover the uninsured; and pay providers well. With fair broad-based funding based on ability to pay, 95% of New Yorkers will pay less than they now spend on coverage and care.

What does the future of health care look like?
Health care will either (a) become more expensive, inaccessible to many, less professional and more corporate or (b) be made more humane and affordable for society, accessible to all, and based on professional decisions by providers and their patients. It all depends on the policy choices we make.

Bea Grause has been president of the Healthcare Association of New York State since 2016. She previously led the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, served in governmental affairs roles at the Tennessee and Massachusetts Hospital Associations and worked in Washington D.C. in a variety of legislative and legal roles. Grause began her career as a registered nurse working primarily in the emergency room and intensive care areas in Massachusetts, California, and Washington D.C.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
My career has had a unique trajectory, but improving the delivery of health care through policy has always been my north star. Early on, as an emergency room nurse at a public hospital, I began to wonder why people who lacked health insurance could only come to our facility. That curiosity eventually led me to law school, then to Washington, D.C., and straight into federal policy.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
The dramatic increase in the cost of delivering acute and post-acute care is our biggest state and national challenge. The pandemic, the national health care workforce shortage, and inflation have increased labor, drug, and supply chain costs without a commensurate increase in revenue from government and private payers. The resulting gap between expenses and revenue must be closed through operations and policy.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
We must reduce the regulatory burdens hospitals and health systems face, as well as the unnecessary and exhaustive amount of time their physicians and other staff spend addressing insurers’ appeals and denials. Looking at solutions in both of those areas would make care delivery much more efficient and free up providers’ very limited resources to be used to expand access to care.

What does the future of health care look like?
A better balance of hands-on care with a high-tech, decentralized delivery model. Providers are investing in technology that supports providing more care in the home setting, such as doing visits through telehealth or monitoring patients remotely. More care will be done outside hospitals’ four walls. However, there is no doubt hospitals will remain at the core of our communities, particularly in emergencies and for those with the most intensive medical needs.

George Gresham is the president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the nation’s largest health care union. Under his leadership, 1199SEIU has secured industry-leading job and benefit standards for health care workers and positioned the union as a major force for advancing progressive causes throughout New York and nationally. He began his career in the housekeeping department at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, and over four decades has held every elected position in the union’s constitution, from member delegate to president, a title which he has had since 2007.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
I joined the health care field nearly 50 years ago, as a housekeeper at Presbyterian Hospital. Through my union benefits, I was able to pay for school to become a radiology technologist. From the outset, I saw how important it is for health care workers to be treated with dignity and respect at work — and how the union is a powerful vehicle to bring about positive change for workers and patients alike. Labor became my life’s calling.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
Poor staffing levels continue to be the primary challenge facing our health care system — in hospitals, nursing homes, and in home care settings. It is vital for there to be a stable and growing health care workforce able to meet communities’ needs, but poor jobs, difficult and dangerous working conditions, and lack of industry buy-in for statewide standards makes this very challenging.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
Health care inequities need to be resolved so a person’s race, zip code, or place of employment doesn’t determine their health outcomes. This means fighting for increases in health care funding to ensure people have access to affordable insurance, whether it’s through Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, or by enacting the New York Health Act. We also need to ensure high-quality, sustainable institutions in every local community by supporting safety net providers and the people who work there.

What does the future of health care look like?
We have choices in front of us. Are we going to invest in a more equitable system that removes health care disparities and expands access to care in every community? Or are we going to continue to allow the pharmaceutical and insurance industries and profiteering health care employers to waste precious resources that should be invested into frontline care? The choice is in our hands as New Yorkers and 1199 will continue to champion health care equity.

Robert Guimento, MHA, is president of NYP Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he is responsible for strategic direction and management of the Hospital and overseeing physician relationships and clinical services. Having joined NYP in 2005, he previously served as senior vice president and chief operating officer for NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, managing day-to-day operations, overseeing operating and capital budgets, and implementing clinical strategy, and as director for financial planning and business development services. Rob earned his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University and a master’s in Health Administration from Duke University.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
My interest in health care generally began to take root in my undergraduate studies as I began to include economics and business classes with other science classes. The complexity of large systems such as health networks (at that time early in development), coupled with the recognition of the impact of these systems on both individuals’ and community health, prompted me to pursue a master’s degree in health administration after graduation.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
Workforce development and engagement over the past 2+ years remains an important challenge. This challenge coupled with the rising costs of both labor and supplies will continue, I believe, to stress the health care system.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
The focus on health equity and ongoing work to understand how social determinants impact access to health care will, I believe, continue to inform and identify opportunities to create greater access to affordable health care.

What does the future of health care look like?
The future of health care will continue to move towards ambulatory care and alternative models of care, such as telemedicine. Additionally, opportunities will continue to evolve involving integration of care across hospitals and community-based organizations, to improve access to primary and preventive care services.

Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, is president of the New York State Nurses Association, the oldest nurses’ union and association in the nation, representing more than 42,000 registered nurses and health care professionals across the state. Ms. Hagans is a nurse and critical care expert who was first elected to NYSNA’s Board in 2015. Ms. Hagans is a native of Haiti and started her career as a surgical intensive care nurse in 1990 at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, where she continues to represent NYSNA members.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in health care?
I used to take care of my brothers and sisters, and I always tried to help my community and the people who couldn’t help themselves. I wanted to heal and make people feel better. Being Haitian, there were many unfounded claims about Haitians having HIV-AIDS. Hospitals wouldn’t take Haitians in. I wanted to help my community and give back.

What is the biggest challenge currently facing New York’s health care system?
Absolutely the safe staffing crisis. When hospitals are not able to attract and retain nurses, patient care suffers. Hospitals need to respect nurses and our patients. Nurses deserve fair wages and a voice, and patients deserve better health care.

How can New York State ensure access to affordable health care?
We need a single-payer, Medicare for all system. In New York, that’s the New York Health Act. Right now hospitals operate like corporations, putting profits before patients. We need a system where everyone — regardless of zip code or insurance status — can receive equitable, high-quality health care.

What does the future of health care look like?
We must start recruiting and retaining nurses, educating our community, and providing health coverage for all. As we saw during the pandemic, Black and Brown people suffered the most due to underlying conditions and a lack of access to care. Also, our society and health care system does not take mental illness seriously, because it prioritizes profits over people. A real transformation is needed to support the health of all of our patients and communities.

Thomas Halloran is president and CEO of Fidelis Care, a health plan subsidiary of Centene Corporation. Fidelis Care is a leading health plan in New York State, serving more than 2.5 million members across all 62 counties statewide. Prior to his current role, Mr. Halloran served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Fidelis Care for more than two years, with responsibility for overseeing provider operations, finance, IT, strategic planning, and product development. He joined Fidelis Care as chief financial officer in 2007.