Metro Philadelphia Healthcare Power Players 2022

Dr. William V. Arnold, MD, PhD, is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon at Rothman Orthopaedics who specializes in hip and knee replacement surgery. He serves as a clinical instructor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Dr. Arnold also completed his orthopaedic internship, residency, and fellowship training at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He’s a member of numerous professional societies, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. Dr. Arnold is a dedicated researcher of orthopaedics and has authored numerous publications and book chapters.

When and why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?
I decided to pursue a career in Healthcare after doing some basic science research in college. I really thought it would be fascinating to see the application of these scientific advances toward improving and treating medical problems. I cannot think of a more satisfying endpoint of a scientific pursuit than helping to improve people’s health issues.

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving in the next five years?
My hope is that we continue to apply basic scientific advances to practical healthcare applications. While this often requires significant effort and investment up-front, the gains and improvements achieved often more than compensate for this. For example, I’m amazed by certain advances in cancer treatments which were still just basic research ideas when I was training for my PhD in graduate school about 25 years ago.

Joe Baffone leads the overall business development, strategy, and culture of Annexus Health. Prior to co-founding Annexus Health, Joe spent seven years as a principal at onPoint Oncology, where he conceived, built, implemented, and monetized cancer access solutions. Before this, Joe spent over 20 years working in life sciences and dedicated the majority of his time to the business of oncology, where he established strategies and led teams dedicated to contracting, pricing, reimbursement, payer, and access functions, as well as establishing and maintaining strategic relationships with key oncology organizations.

What can Pennsylvania policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare?
Access to healthcare and access to quality healthcare are two separate goals that can be pursued simultaneously with more balance and less rancor. Take drug pricing, for example–without a balanced approach to drug pricing controls, we create a shift that reduces profitability for life science companies and reduces investment in innovation. Policymakers must end the division over ideology and find a compromise. If drug pricing controls are sought with the singular goal of providing affordable access, we lose out on the long-term prospects of advanced quality healthcare. Striking a balance that sustainably rewards these companies will drive innovation and quality care. Another recommendation is to loosen onerous charity assistance administration regulations. The prior mishandling of assistance programs has created an environment of overregulation that is stifling our ability to optimize assistance for those in need.

When and why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?
Personal and family experiences drove me to critically assess how access to healthcare in complex disease states is provided. After witnessing the fragmented and disparate reality of access solutions and patient care management, my co-founder, Brad Frazier, and I decided to focus on generational disruption through technology and service offerings. We have achieved a lot in a relatively short time by building a company with great workflow expertise and a tech-focused approach that accounts for the entire cycle of administrative functions associated with finding needed access services and managing them all in one place. Technology built with a foundation of workflow expertise is where we started, then we added a best-in-class services division to assure that workflow and technology are optimized for incredible results. By doing so, Brad and I  are improving the patient care journey and allowing more patients to get the care they deserve in the way it was intended.

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving in the next five years?
There are a couple of significant decisions that have been made by the CMS and ONC that are continuously driving consequential change and maximizing the efficient use of technology in healthcare to improve patient outcomes. The first is the meaningful use of electronic health records. It was a painful process, but one that was critically important for patient care. The other is interoperability. The CMS and ONC’s final ruling, when a good carrot and stick system is implemented, will ultimately play a dramatic role in healthcare system advances. The shift to meaningful use of electronic health records was a foundational necessity for interoperability. We are already seeing incredible improvements in how organizations approach the sharing of patient data versus the standard approach of putting walls around the data for organizational gain. This focus will drive collaboration and a more longitudinal approach, ultimately advancing efficiency to improve how care is delivered.

The CMS and ONC’s shift in these areas has advanced Annexus Health’s vision of disrupting the healthcare industry more than any outside factors. We see our company as the fourth enterprise platform for provider organizations to manage the administrative and logistical functions of the patient care journey. Our technology is sitting alongside electronic health records, revenue cycle management, and pharmacy dispensing software to share the information needed to manage the administrative functions surrounding the patient care journey. As we advance our software and service offerings, we will facilitate an ecosystem that enables service and data companies to provide solutions that materially impact patient care.

David L. Baiada is the CEO of BAYADA Home Health Care, a not-for-profit home health care provider. BAYADA works with 29,000 professionals who serve over 150,000 clients annually at more than 390 locations across the globe. Appointed to CEO in 2017, David led BAYADA’s transformation into a not-for-profit. Prior to his role, he served as president for the home health, hospice, and pediatrics practices, led the Enterprise Quality teams, spearheaded the quality improvement framework, oversaw four strategic business acquisitions, and launched the Hospice Specialty Practice.

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving in the next five years?
With an aging population, the demand for home health care will continue to increase. To meet that need, we’re investing and retaining talent through initiatives like our paid Nurse Residency Program, which provides training for recent nurse graduates to transition into a professional nursing role. I see enormous opportunities in joint-venture partnerships, joining like-minded organizations across the healthcare space to reimagine care transitions and increase access to in-home and virtual care. I also believe digital services will be a differentiator in the marketplace, expanding our abilities to collect data, deliver services, and build relationships.

Dr. Vincenzo Berghella is the director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the director of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and a professor with tenure in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. A former president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, he is also editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology MFM, the associate editor of AJOG, the deputy editor of UpToDate, an editor at The Cochrane Library, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. Dr. Berghella has authored around 600 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and over 50 books.

What can Pennsylvania policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare? 
Ensure that everyone has health insurance and access to reproductive rights, including contraception and abortion, and early prenatal care. Equity among all races and ethnic groups should be the goal.

When and why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?
I decided to pursue a career in healthcare so I could help educate patients about preventive measures that they can take to avoid diseases, and to provide them with the best therapy if they are sick. I strive not only to help each and every individual I see, but also to discover new interventions to improve the health of pregnant people and their fetuses. I love teaching and empowering younger generations to take us further in these goals.

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving in the next five years?
Health providers should not evolve to become assembly workers, forced to see more and more patients. To achieve the best results, healthcare providers need sufficient time with each patient and also time to do research and teach. We should aim to provide individualized therapy based on genetic data.

Dr. Christian Bermudez is a cardiothoracic surgeon and the director of thoracic transplantation at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Since completing his training, he has focused on the management of end-stage cardiac and pulmonary conditions and specializes in advanced treatment options, including heart and lung transplants and mechanical support. His research has focused on developing strategies to improve the survival of patients waiting for transplants and advancing new technologies and diagnostic methods. He has contributed to the field with more than 150 publications and through his active involvement in medical societies, including the American Heart Association and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

What can Pennsylvania policymakers do to ensure equitable access to healthcare?
Healthcare is a rapidly evolving and complex field. There are many competing interests, from health policymakers and healthcare professionals to healthcare delivery systems and the industry. The focus of all stakeholders should be aligned to address the specific challenges affecting communities in Pennsylvania, especially since there are areas that require specific attention. Some examples include expanding access to include primary care, prevention, and mental health services and ensuring underserved populations receive the care they need, which can be done through sustained investment in quality care

When and why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?
I decided to pursue a career in healthcare at a young age. I was attracted to the fact that I could have a career that could combine my interests in science while helping people. Coming from a family of doctors, I realized the positive impact you can have in your community and your peers while developing as a professional. I think this principle holds true today and is the reason why so many young students are interested in this profession.

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving in the next five years?
The last three years have had a profound impact on the healthcare industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has made evident the strengths of our healthcare systems, but also their limitations. We observed an important inequity in the distribution of resources, challenging the most unprepared systems and the most vulnerable populations. In parallel, the healthcare workforce showed resilience during the crisis but has been impacted, most recently, by high levels of resignation stressing the systems. In the next five years, we will most likely see a focus on reorganizing and correcting the course in some of these areas, especially regarding efficiency, better distribution of resources, cost containment, and improving the working environment. I am optimistic that all these changes will finally positively impact healthcare in our region.

Dr. Andrew R. Best, Jr., is a licensed clinical social worker and the director of the City of Philadelphia’s Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction. Here, he oversees issues related to substance use in Philadelphia. Prior to this, Dr. Best served as the health program manager for the Single County Authority Operations Unit and has also held several positions in the city’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services. Dr. Best holds a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in Public Administration from West Chester University, and a license in clinical social work from Bryn Mawr Graduate School Of Social Work and Social Research.

Dr. Cheryl Bettigole is the health commissioner for the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health. She is a board-certified family physician and previously served as the director of the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention for the Department of Public Health, as chief medical officer of Complete Care Health Network, a federally qualified community and migrant health center group in Southern New Jersey, and as a physician and clinical director with the city health centers.

What can Pennsylvania policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare?
The Affordable Care Act has brought huge advances in coverage to Pennsylvania, but there are still too many people who skip needed healthcare visits and medications because of cost. Pennsylvania policymakers should take action to address the high cost of prescription drugs, which are unaffordable to many state residents, and should expand marketplace subsidies or allow residents to buy into Medicaid, creating an affordable public option. This would allow many state residents who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford the co-pays and co-insurance costs of private plans to obtain affordable, comprehensive coverage for themselves and their families.

When and why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?
I was a graduate student planning to become an academic, but I was also watching as friends struggled with access to healthcare and the way an impersonal system seemed to shut them out when they most needed help. One day things just clicked. I wanted to be a doctor, take care of people in inner cities, and really understand these systems to make a difference and work on fixing issues with health policy.

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving in the next five years?
According to my husband, I’m a relentless optimist, so I do believe that we’re going to reach a point where policymakers understand that they need to take action to restrain out-of-control healthcare costs and fix the remaining gaps in our health insurance system. The past year has seen new scientific breakthroughs with enormous promise, including potential cures for sickle cell anemia, hemophilia A, and beta-thalassemia. We rely on our policymakers to make those cures available to everyone who needs them and to refuse to allow anyone to be priced out of access.

Dr. Sandra Brooks is the chief medical officer at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the executive vice president and chief community health equity officer leading the Jefferson Collaborative for Health Equity. Trained in obstetrics at the University of Pennsylvania and gynecologic oncology at Harvard University, Dr. Brooks earned her master’s degree in Business Administration from John Hopkins University, and previously served as a professor and the director of gynecologic oncology at the University of Maryland. Dr. Brooks is values-driven, implementing community-based solutions from a health system perspective and collaborating to address social determinants of health in urban areas.

What can Pennsylvania policymakers do to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare?
A few considerations: policymakers should identify additional mechanisms to support primary care networks in lowering barriers to entry while including equitable access as a metric. They must also expand the reach and efficiency of teams deploying innovative high-tech and low-tech approaches to enhancing access in low-resource and remote areas. Policymakers should streamline mechanisms and align resources to address the social determinants that are greatly impacting health outcomes. Finally, we can ensure access by continuing to support the expansion of diverse care teams and enhancing pipelines to support the training of underrepresented individuals and better reflect the communities we serve.

When and why did you decide to pursue a career in healthcare?
After a spiritual experience at summer camp at age eight, I realized I wanted to be a physician and a healer. I enjoyed athletics and music, but was very focused on preparing myself for the academic rigor needed to enter the field of medicine. My nickname in high school was ‘Dr. Brooks.’ I am fortunate that no one told me it was impossible; I must have been convincing!

How do you see the healthcare industry evolving in the next five years?
As we emerge from the pandemic, we are coming to grips with sobering economic realities both in healthcare and in our communities. We will need to accelerate the pace of harnessing technology to provide actionable data and perform functions that do not need to be performed manually. No one has a crystal ball, but we will likely see more consolidation, integration, transparency, and collaboration with non-clinical team members to enable systems to address the whole person and the wellness of the communities we serve.