Bergen New Bridge Medical Center CEO Deborah Visconi and Atlantic Health Hospital Division CEO Amy Perry were named to Modern Healthcare’s 2021 Top 25 Women Leaders.
Modern Healthcare said the award program recognizes women in leadership roles, spotlighting their administrative and professional accomplishments. Editor Aurora Aguilar said the women are developing policy, leading change and guiding health care delivery improvement across the country.
“Honorees of the 2021 Top 25 Women Leaders in Healthcare award program have a mission to combat the longstanding imbalance of gender equity at the top rungs of leadership by promoting and hiring more female executives,” Aguilar said. “They serve as mentors and create workplaces that embrace diversity and inclusion. And, last year, they did this all while guiding their organizations through a global pandemic.”
Robert Pacicco, chair of the CarePlus Bergen board of trustees, said Visconi is well deserving of the honor.
“We are extremely proud of Deb and grateful for her leadership, which has guided Bergen New Bridge through this pandemic while never losing sight of the importance of our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said. “This is an amazing accomplishment that reflects Deb’s passion and tenacity, and it is also a testament to the essential role of the medical center in caring for underserved communities by providing equitable access to care, including COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.”
Here’s how Modern Healthcare described Visconi: “Under Visconi’s leadership, the New Jersey safety-net health system became one of the first in the state to open a drive-through COVID-19 site. It also partnered with Bergen County to launch a mobile testing program, with a special focus on underserved communities. Visconi has made sure the BNBMC stayed in the forefront of offering behavioral health services.
“Beyond the pandemic, the health system grew its ambulatory footprint by 32% and entered a new partnership with Rutgers Medical School. Visconi has recruited several women to her leadership team, including the chief communications officer, chief compliance officer and executive director for the medical center’s foundation.”
Perry is both the Hospital Division CEO and the senior vice president of integrated care delivery for Atlantic Health. Atlantic CEO Brian Gragnolati lauded her.
“As an organization committed to empowering women leaders, Atlantic Health System is proud to congratulate Amy on this well-deserved recognition,” he said. “Her dedication to breaking down barriers and achieving equity in our workforce is an essential component of her ongoing success in delivering the best care and experiences for our patients and their families.
“Throughout the unprecedented needs created by the pandemic, Amy’s tireless support of our frontline team members resulted in innovative and collaborative solutions that changed and saved lives in our communities. Thank you to Modern Healthcare for once again recognizing her efforts to uplift our patients, caregivers and future leaders.”
Here’s how Modern Healthcare described Perry: “Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Perry was leading an effort to build out Atlantic Health System’s telehealth capabilities, including being able to conduct prehospital assessments of stroke patients in an ambulance. As the pandemic spread, she made telehealth a central part of Atlantic’s response; close to 90% of patient visits were virtual by April. She also led efforts to use predictive data to identify the spread of the coronavirus from New York into New Jersey and try to determine when the peak of cases would hit.
“Perry is a strong supporter of gender equity; 28% of the system’s presidents are female, as well as the state’s only systemwide chief medical officer.”
Aguilar said the honorees are the best of the best — and that the publication has decided to make the list an annual event.
“The honorees, chosen out of hundreds of nominations, represent passionate leadership and measurable results in bringing greater diversity to the C-suite and beyond,” she said. “Because of the importance of these efforts in improving health care, we also are excited to announce that, from now on, we will be recognizing these outstanding leaders every year. Congratulations to the Class of 2021.”
