For the third year in a row, Hackensack Meridian Health‘s Robert Garrett has been ranked No. 1 in CEO Forum’s “10 CEOs Transforming Healthcare” in the U.S.
Garrett was honored for advancing health equity and building stronger communities. In selecting him for the top ranking, the editorial board noted the network’s remarkable advances to improve health equity and praised “Mr. Garrett’s leadership in identifying social determinants, analysis of demographics and creating new levels of access, and methodology of inclusivity in training medical students.”
In the recently released magazine, Garrett is once again honored among an impressive roster of leading CEOs from prestigious organizations including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the American Medical Association and Jefferson Health.
“Everyone in this extraordinary organization can claim ownership to this honor, our heroic front-line teams who continue to put patients first, our leadership teams who execute our winning strategies, our educators and our board members,” Garrett said.
The HMH network was recognized for a robust and rapidly growing social determinants of health strategy that addresses issues that greatly impact health in five areas: food insecurity, housing insecurity, transportation issues, caregiver support and mental health/substance abuse treatment.
HMH also created two separate digital platforms that were built into the electronic medical record to help providers collect information about social needs from patients. In just two years, the network screened 700,000 people and provided more than 2.4 million referrals to community resources many people in need did not even know existed.