Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, MPH Recognized As Top Healthcare Leader

Press release from Northwell Health:

Feb. 18, 2021

Debbie Salas-Lopez, MD, MPH who has dedicated her career to amplifying the voices of diverse communities, has been named as one of the 10 “Women to Watch” on Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women Leaders. The annual award recognizes women health care leaders who provide consistent guidance and leadership in developing policy and navigating health care delivery improvement across the US.

Dr. Salas-Lopez is being honored for her work on better understanding the ways in which race, ethnicity, literacy, age, religion, disability and socioeconomic status impact public health. As Northwell Health’s senior vice president for community and population health, she oversees the health system’s community health strategy, including investment ($1.44 billion in charity care and community benefit), the Center for Equity of Care, community relations and partnerships, as well as the smoking cessation, human trafficking and Food as Health programs.

Since joining Northwell in 2019, she’s established a culture of collaboration and mentorship, providing the health system’s women leaders with opportunities for engagement and advancement.

“I am honored to be among so many successful, passionate and influential women,” Dr. Salas-Lopez said. “This is an amazing group of leaders who have made impactful change at their organizations and, most importantly, in their communities.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Salas-Lopez assumed a leadership role in providing health care, testing and other resources to communities reeling from high incidences of COVID-19 yet hindered by health access and other social determinants.

She established Northwell’s faith-based testing initiative, partnering with faith-based and other community leaders to provide more than 85,000 free diagnostic and serology (antibody) tests in over 100 community and faith-based locations, including 66 churches across metro New York.

Dr. Salas-Lopez also leads New York State’s Long Island Regional Health Equity Task Force, tasked with ensuring the safe and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines. Working with more than 85 community and faith-based leaders, public agencies, schools and other community representatives, nearly 6,000 community members have been vaccinated at nine locations so far. The task force also provides education and outreach about the vaccine to these communities.

“As an integral member of Northwell’s executive leadership team, Deb’s voice and experience has been invaluable in shaping the direction Northwell is heading. It’s times like this that require strong leadership, which we have witnessed time and again from Deb,” said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health. “The critical partnerships she has established during the pandemic will pave future inroads in underserved areas and serve as a valuable resource in addressing their unmet health and social needs.”

Along with her COVID-19 leadership, Dr. Salas-Lopez’s community-based achievements include:

· Expanding Northwell’s Social Determinants of Health program —a hospital-based initiative to comprehensively address unmet social needs among patients. The program has now screened over 150,000 patients and made referrals to area agencies who provide social services.
· Bolstering Northwell’s Center for Equity of Care, which addresses gender and race disparities and ensures equity in the delivery of care.
· Strengthening the health system’s Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs), which include women leaders, veterans and members of the Black, Brown, LatinX and LGBTQ community.
· Increasing her focus to improve health literacy through continued partnership with the Long Island Regional Adult Education Network (LI-RAEN), which serves 77 adult literacy centers throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties and also works closely with other public service agencies addressing emerging, transitional and incumbent workers’ literacy needs.

“In health care, we have a responsibility to do what is right for those who need us, including our most vulnerable communities,” Dr. Salas-Lopez said. “We need to go upstream and learn what ails them because every community is different. Their needs are different. We can’t have blanket strategies that don’t match their needs. And we are fully committed to working with them to help them thrive.”

This press release was produced by Northwell Health. The views expressed here are the author's own.