Just ahead of a community forum with Blank Slate Media, Northwell Health President and CEO Michael J. Dowling has been named to Modern Healthcare magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare,” ranking second overall.
As the Northwell system combats the second surge of COVID-19, the magazine cited Dowling’s innovation, leadership and strong stance on social issues such as gun violence as a public health crisis as well as immigration and the opioid epidemic. Dowling earned a place on Modern Healthcare’s list for the 14th consecutive year. The list includes the nation’s most prominent health care CEOs, elected officials and government administrators.
Surpassed only by “the frontline worker” in first place, Dowling led such recognizable health care figures as Dr. Marc Harrison, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, in third place, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in ninth place.
“This year has shown us how vulnerable we are to the various pandemics facing health care,” Dowling said in a statement. “COVID-19 devastated us. Gun violence continues to cripple us. And there are numerous other issues that are keeping our communities from thriving. It is our responsibility to partner with them to finally move the needle in the right direction.”
To date, across Northwell’s network, the health system has treated 101,000 COVID-19 patients, including 16,000 who were hospitalized, more than any other hospital system in the country.
During Dowling’s tenure as CEO, Northwell Health has become New York state’s largest health system, with 23 hospitals, approximately 800 ambulatory and physician practices, and $13.5 billion in annual revenue. He came to the system following 12 years as secretary of health, education and human services for former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.
Blank Slate Media’s one-on-one community forum with Dowling, during which he will discuss the system’s experiences during the pandemic and what will come in the future, will take place Dec. 17 at 7 p.m., and interested viewers can register here.
