Metro Philadelphia Health Care Power Players 2023

Orfelina Feliz Payne has a B.A. in Applied Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in business from Gwynedd Mercy University. Lina joined Puentes after serving as the first Afro-Latina senior director within the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disabilities, and the first co-chair of disparity mitigation and language access. As executive director at Puentes, Lina combats social injustice by ensuring wellness of Spanish speaking immigrants in Philadelphia and the surrounding regions.

What’s your favorite thing about working in health care?
My favorite thing about working in health care at Puentes de Salud is our connection to the community. Our model is centered on community voice which creates an entirely different health care experience than traditional models of care, not only for the individuals that we serve, but for our staff and volunteers as well. Puentes has focused on the social determinants of health since inception and that focus builds community for everyone involved in it.  

What are the biggest issues facing the health care system in Philadelphia?
As the world continues to evolve around us, traditional health care models and health education have been outpaced by the needs of the communities we serve. Diversity in the medical professions and medical sciences have also been outpaced by the changing populations of our communities. Health care models would benefit from leaner systems, allowing for flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of our communities at a faster pace and in full alignment. 

What does the future of health care in Philadelphia look like to you?
The future of health care as a whole is slowly moving to integrated care focusing on the social determinants of health. Funding has begun to make a slow shift to support integrated health as well. Partnerships will be foundational as we make this shift. Quality, whole person care should be a right for all people residing in Philadelphia and beyond. 

Michael Pearson is interim president and CEO of PHMC, overseeing the region’s largest nonprofit public health institute with more than 2,500 employees, 350 programs and a network of subsidiaries. As a local business and community leader, Pearson served on PHMC’s board since 2011, with leadership roles including treasurer, vice chair, and board chair. He is credited with increasing organizational sustainability through financial planning and played a vital role in launching PHMC’s DEI Governing Council.

What’s your favorite thing about working in health care?
It’s a privilege to work with the local community, public officials, and our partners to develop effective ways to improve public health. The work can be challenging, but incredibly rewarding and filled with people who truly want to do good. There are few vocations where you can directly touch the lives of others — and make a difference — the way you can in health care and I’m honored to work in this industry.

What are the biggest issues facing the health care system in Philadelphia?
Gun violence, the opioid epidemic, and health disparities continue to be the main challenges facing Philadelphia’s health systems. PHMC is focused on addressing these challenges through solutions to traditional community hospitals. At our Public Health Campus on Cedar, we are actively engaging with local health providers to provide high- quality, integrated, patient-centered care through an innovative health campus.

What does the future of health care in Philadelphia look like to you?
The last several years have showcased the importance of behavioral and public health as the region grappled with several crises, including COVID-19, the opioid epidemic, rising suicide rates, gun violence, and more. Behavioral health is critical to overall health and well-being. PHMC, and other providers of behavioral health solutions, will continue to play an active role to ensure a full continuum of care.

Dr. Melinda Ratini specializes in geriatric medicine and is board-certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Practitioners in family practice with a certificate of added qualification in geriatrics. She earned her medical degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and completed a residency at the Delaware Valley Medical Center (Jefferson-Bucks).

What’s your favorite thing about working in health care?
I wanted to work in a field that combined service to community and science.

What are the biggest issues facing the health care system in Philadelphia?
Lawmakers must work towards expanding Medicare to cover all, address physician and mental health provider shortages, work to address bias and stigma that are inherent in the health care establishment, continue to support telemedicine, which provides care for persons with transportation and financial constraints, give access to more translators and interpreter services, works towards a single EMR, and work to reign in drug costs as well as insurance costs.

What does the future of health care in Philadelphia look like to you?
Hopefully, health care will evolve in the ways mentioned above. Society, as a whole, is becoming more aware of barriers to health care that need to be dismantled and changes that need to be addressed, including health risks from food insecurity, climate change, institutional racism, accessibility of firearms, and environmental issues. 

Dr. Angelo Ratini specializes in geriatric medicine. He is board-certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Family Practitioners in family practice with a certificate of added qualification in geriatrics. He earned his medical degree from West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and completed a residency at the Delaware Valley Medical Center (Jefferson-Bucks).

What’s your favorite thing about working in health care?
My interest in science and my desire to have a positive effect on people’s lives led me to medicine.

What are the biggest issues facing the health care system in Philadelphia?
We need Medicare for all health coverage so that people do not have to wait until they are very ill to seek treatment. Other things that need to be addressed include reducing drug costs so people do not have to ration their medications, reducing administrative burdens, reforming medical liability to encourage physicians to stay in Pennsylvania, and expanding the residency programs to alleviate the growing shortage of physicians.

What does the future of health care in Philadelphia look like to you?
I see the public demanding expansion of online health care services and telehealth visits.

Dr. Reddy is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who’s been practicing for over 20 years. He received his medical degree from Bellary Medical College in India. He completed a general surgery internship at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and a residency at St. Johns Medical College in Bengaluru, India, and Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. He completed his Fellowship at Nirschl-Georgetown University in Sports Medicine, Arlington, VA. 

What’s your favorite thing about working in health care?
Doing good for patients and helping fight their illnesses is most gratifying.

What are the biggest issues facing the health care system in Philadelphia?
Decreasing reimbursements and increasing costs is an uneven battle. 

What does the future of health care in Philadelphia look like to you?
More consolidation of health care entities with few significant players calling all the shots.

Dr. Jaewon Ryu is deeply committed to making better health easier and pushing the industry to deliver high-quality and affordable care. He has cultivated a spirit of innovation and transformation across Geisinger, driving new approaches to some of healthcare’s most complex problems. Dr. Ryu earned his B.A. degree from Yale University, and his M.D. and J.D. from the University of Chicago. He completed his residency training in emergency medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Dr. Jerimiah Sabir is the executive director of the Dr. Bernett L. Johnson, Jr. Sayre Health Center as of May 3, 2021. Previously held positions are vice president of operations and healthcare consultation with the Life Course Development Center, director with the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, deputy director with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and several other leadership roles with state, federal, local government, and institutional organizations.

Brenda Shelton-Dunston is the executive director of the Philadelphia Black Women’s Health Alliance and known as a “boundary spanner” for facilitating effective partnerships. She operated Health Centers, LTC Facilities, and provided health/human services consulting in both rural and urban communities. She received an MPH degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, and a B.S. in Medical Technology from Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. She was awarded the Founders Award in 2023, and presented the 2017 Women’s March in Philadelphia.

What’s your favorite thing about working in health care?
I enjoy working to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities. Health disparities in the Black community occur at rates 2-3 times greater than the white community and increases the risk for COVID-19 and preventable chronic illnesses and adverse infant and maternal health conditions. Women’s voices and data inform our work in partnership with organizations, resulting in evidence-based interventions with significant improvements in chronic health risk factors through BWHA/GPHIC PTSC Wellness Programs.

What are the biggest issues facing the health care system in Philadelphia?
Focus on and address racism, both conscious and unconscious, to contribute to the establishment of an equitable foundation for health care service delivery and improved health outcomes for the Black community. We need policies and strategies focused on social and political determinants of health — the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. These are conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age; economic and social policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, racism and climate change.

What does the future of health care in Philadelphia look like to you?
It further examines and improves current cultural competency programs for all health providers and staff and also integrates comprehensive racism courses into curriculums for all allied and professional health students. Health care delivery and management systems develop sustainable organizational philosophies and policies and procedures that result from “peeling back the onion and removing the mask to advance well-being in an inequitable world. Health care outcomes are improved, and health disparities are reduced in the Black community.

Dr. Ala Stanford is a renowned leader in health equity and a health care policy advisor. She is an advocate for vulnerable populations in the US and globally, acting as the regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of the Mid-Atlantic, appointed by President Joseph Biden, overseeing the health and well being of all Americans. Practicing for over 20 years, Dr. Stanford is a surgeon, a health equity advocate, and the founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium.

Dayle Steinberg is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania. She has reinforced her commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights by dedicating her professional career to Planned Parenthood and its mission. PPSP serves more than 65,000 people through its 10 health centers, education programs, and advocacy initiatives. Dayle also serves as a board member of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates, an organization that engages in Planned Parenthood’s extensive electoral, organizing, and lobbying efforts.