Sturdy Health’s Dr. Brian Patel named to Modern Healthcare’s 2024 Diversity Leaders List
Attleboro, MA (August 12, 2024) – Modern Healthcare, the industry's leading source of healthcare business and policy news, research, and information, recognized Sturdy Health Senior Vice President of Medical affairs, Chief Medical and Quality Officer Brian Patel, MD, FACEP as one of Modern Healthcare’s 2024’s Diversity Leaders. This distinction honors healthcare executives and organizations working to further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within their organizations and throughout the health care industry.
“Our Diversity Leaders in Healthcare awards have been changed to honor a new group of individual honorees each year, and our 2024 class sets the bar high,” said Mary Ellen Podmolik, editor-in-chief of Modern Healthcare. “Some have been working on DEI initiatives for decades while others are newer to their positions and already have made a difference. The organizations honored set an example, from their leadership ranks to their programming efforts, of the results that can be achieved across a workplace. We hope industry leader continue to prioritize these efforts to better reflect, internally and externally, the communities they serve.”
“This prestigious honor highlights Dr. Patel’s exceptional contributions to advancing equity in all of its forms both here at Sturdy Health and within the communities we are privileged to serve,” said Sturdy Health President and Chief Executive Officer Aimee Brewer. “Through his leadership, we continue to make positive advancements in creating an inclusive environment in which to deliver and receive high quality, culturally attuned care.”
Dr. Patel championed the development of Sturdy Health’s three-year DEI and Health Equity Strategic Plan. He serves as a catalyst with Human Resources to integrate a culture of DEI and practices throughout the organization, implementing health equity practices and achieving full alignment with The Joint Commission’s Health Care Equity standards. In partnership with local leaders and area organizations, Dr. Patel fostered the creation of a community resource guide to collectively meet patient’s supportive needs, such as expanded language access services and transportation to medical appointments, which can be significant barriers to much-needed care. He also coordinated the delivery of medically tailored meals for optimal maternal-fetal health within vulnerable populations and led the implementation of the PRAPARE screening tool resulting in over 1,100 referrals surrounding food or housing insecurity and 392 referrals for behavioral health services.
Established on April 14, 1913, Sturdy Health is an independent, not-for-profit health system comprised of a 126-bed acute care hospital, 26 primary and specialty care medical offices, and an Urgent Care Center dedicated to providing a broad range of healthcare services to communities in Southeastern Massachusetts and neighboring Rhode Island. Sturdy’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of the people in our communities through kindness, compassion, and convenient access to the highest quality care.
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