Dr. Harold L. Paz is the former executive vice president of health sciences at Stony Brook University and former chief executive officer of Stony Brook University Medicine. He is the former executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs at Ohio State University [1] and chief executive officer of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. Prior to that,he served as executive vice president and chief medical officer at CVS Health/Aetna.
Harold Paz attended the University of Rochester from 1973 to 1977. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and psychology in 1977,and subsequently graduated with a Master of Science degree in life science engineering from Tufts University in 1979. Paz went on to receive a medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1982. [2] Following medical school,he completed his residency training in internal medicine at Northwestern University Medical Center where he served as chief medical resident,in 1986. He continued his medical training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in pulmonary,critical care and sleep medicine where he was Eudowood Fellow. Paz also was a postdoctoral fellow in Environmental Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Paz was selected to serve as the fifth dean of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Rutgers University Medical School), [3] and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Group [2] only seven years after completing his training at Johns Hopkins in 1995.
In 2006,Paz was recruited to the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System, [4] [5] where he held multiple leadership roles throughout his tenure,including chief executive officer,senior vice president for Health Affairs for the Pennsylvania State University,dean of the College of Medicine and professor of medicine and public health sciences. [6] [7] [8] In addition to being one of the youngest and longest serving medical school deans in the nation,he was elected by his peers to serve as chair of the council of deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges from 2012 to 2014 and chair of the board of directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers from 2013 to 2014.
Following two decades as a medical school dean and health care CEO,Paz was recruited to Aetna in 2014 [9] to lead clinical strategy and policy for all of Aetna's domestic and global business. Paz served as executive vice president and chief medical officer and was a member of Aetna's executive committee where he advanced an innovative personalized health strategy. Called AetnaCare,this strategy focused bringing care into the home and local community by leveraging clinical analytics,member engagement,digital and telehealth solutions,along with value-based arrangements with pharmaceutical companies and physicians to address the social,behavior and environmental determinants of health. These efforts were fully realized when Paz served as medical lead for the integration planning process with CVS Health through May 2019.
At Aetna,Paz led Aetna's response to the national opioid crisis. One of a small group of insurers that have stepped up efforts to fight the opioid epidemic, [10] Aetna created an enterprise-wide opioid task force in 2016,which was chaired by Paz. In June 2017,Paz authored an opioid strategy paper that discussed the complex issue of opioid addiction. [11] In October 2017,Paz participated in the fourth public meeting of the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Opioid Crisis. [12]
Paz joined The Ohio State University in June 2019 as the first Chancellor for Health Affairs,assuming oversight of clinical and academic health affairs of the over $4 billion Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center,as well as Ohio State's seven health science colleges. The medical center has over 27,000 employees and encompasses over 100 buildings,including seven hospitals,25 core research labs and more than 20 research centers and institutes. [13] The seven health science colleges include: [14]
In August 2020,the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center Board of Trustees approved construction plans presented by Paz for a new $1.8 billion,26-floor inpatient hospital tower with 1.9 million square-feet dedicated to enhanced research,clinical training and patient care. Scheduled to open in early 2026,this new facility will increase Ohio State's total hospital count to eight. [15] [16] Other major construction projects include three over 250 thousand square-feet ambulatory and surgical care buildings in Columbus’outer loop,as well as an interdisciplinary research building and interdisciplinary education facility focused on interprofessional education across the health sciences.
In addition,Paz has been instrumental in steering one of the nation's largest academic health centers through the COVID-19 pandemic. [17] In May 2020,Paz participated in a panel at the Columbus Metropolitan Club to discuss Ohio State's strategies and innovative solutions for combatting the crisis. [18] He also shared a coronavirus and vaccine update during a recent Bloomberg podcast [19] and discussed how telehealth has been used at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center during a podcast with Becker's Healthcare. [20]
Under Paz's leadership,the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center rapidly increased telehealth capacity and uptake,providing nearly 203,000 telehealth visits from March through July 2020,an increase from 96 in February 2020. [21] Telehealth was a valuable response tool during the coronavirus pandemic,but is also an important part of the medical center's plan to drive healthcare into homes and the local community. [22]
During his tenure at Ohio State,Paz has also focused on addressing social determinants of health. He has written about the relationship between food insecurity and health [23] and implemented programs,such as a partnership with the Mid-Ohio Food Bank,to help providers connect at-risk patients with healthy food. [24] In addition,Paz led the creation of an Anti-Racism Action Plan to support structural and systemic change toward equity in health and well-being. The plan includes specific actions to be taken by Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center and each health science college to address the direct line between racism and health outcomes. In 2020,the medical center was ranked by Forbes as fourth best employer in the nation for diversity. [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]
In October 2021,Paz began his tenure as executive vice president of health sciences at Stony Brook University and chief executive officer of Stony Brook University Medicine in Stony Brook,New York. In this role,he leads academic,hospital,and community initiatives to ensure continued development of Stony Brook Medicine as a premier academic medical center and health system and a world-class leader in research and innovation. [30] Under his leadership,Stony Brook launched the Center for Healthy Aging at Stony Brook Medicine [31] and launched the Center for Interprofessional Education,began construction on Stony Brook Medicine East Hampton Emergency Department, [32] and completed a 170,000 sq. ft. ambulatory care facility at Lake Grove. [33]
In addition to his current role,Paz previously served as professor adjunct of internal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. [34] Paz is a member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Leadership Consortium, [35] National Academies of Sciences,Engineering and Medicine Committee on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS):Accelerating Treatments and Improving Quality of Life, [36] the Health Evolution Leadership Committee, [37] and co-chair of the Health Evolution Forum Work Group on Advancing Innovative Home-Based Care Models. [38]
He has served on the NAM Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Advanced Illness, [39] and the NAM Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic [40] and the National Academy of Science,Engineering and Medicine Committee on Implications of Discarded Weight-Based Drugs. [41] In addition,Paz serves on the Curai Health advisory board and the board of directors of Research!America. Most recently,he has served on the boards of Select Medical Holdings Corporation,the National Health Council, [42] the Aetna Foundation,United Surgical Partners International, [43] the Association of American Medical Colleges,and the Association of Academic Health Centers. Previously,he served on the board of directors of the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust,Vyteris,Inc.,the Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania,a number of hospital and health system boards,as well as the Johnson &Johnson Bio-Science Advisory Board.
Paz has received numerous awards [44] including a named professorship at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School,and holds an honorary degree from Elizabethtown College. [45] He has been listed among the 100 Physician Leaders of Hospital and Health Systems by Becker's Hospital Review. [46] In June 2018 and 2021,Paz was listed as one of the 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders of the year by Modern Healthcare. [47]
Paz has authored over 100 publications and his research has focused on quality management,clinical outcomes,healthcare effectiveness and employee health benefit design. [48]
Paz speaks regularly about:
Paz was born in New York City. His parents immigrated to the United States after the Second World War. He later moved with his family to Duchess County,New York where he attended public school. Paz is married to Sharon H. Press,PhD,a child and adolescent clinical psychologist. They have two adult children. Paz has been involved in a number of philanthropic organizations including,most recently,serving on the board of directors of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts.
Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH),previously known as Stony Brook University Medical Center,is a nationally ranked,695-bed non-profit,research,and academic medical center located in Stony Brook,New York,providing tertiary care for the entire Long Island region. The medical center is a part of the Stony Brook Medicine Health System and is made up of four hospitals that include the Stony Brook University Hospital,Stony Brook Children's Hospital,Stony Brook Southampton Hospital,and Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital. SBUH is affiliated with the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. Long Island's only tertiary care and a Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center,the hospital is ranked as the 12th best in New York and 10th in the New York metropolitan area by U.S. News &World Report. The hospital campus also includes a rooftop helipad to better serve critical cases.
Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies. It allows long-distance patient and clinician contact,care,advice,reminders,education,intervention,monitoring,and remote admissions. Telemedicine is sometimes used as a synonym,or is used in a more limited sense to describe remote clinical services,such as diagnosis and monitoring. When rural settings,lack of transport,a lack of mobility,conditions due to outbreaks,epidemics or pandemics,decreased funding,or a lack of staff restrict access to care,telehealth may bridge the gap as well as provide distance-learning;meetings,supervision,and presentations between practitioners;online information and health data management and healthcare system integration. Telehealth could include two clinicians discussing a case over video conference;a robotic surgery occurring through remote access;physical therapy done via digital monitoring instruments,live feed and application combinations;tests being forwarded between facilities for interpretation by a higher specialist;home monitoring through continuous sending of patient health data;client to practitioner online conference;or even videophone interpretation during a consult.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a public health sciences university in Little Rock,Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges,seven institutes,several research centers,a statewide network of community education centers,and the UAMS Medical Center.
The Ohio State University College of Medicine is the medical school at Ohio State University and is located in Columbus,Ohio. The college is nationally recognized as a top institution in both education and research,as reflected by rankings in U.S. News &World Report,No. 28 (tie) in Best Medical Schools:Research. In 2023,its two primary teaching hospitals were ranked as one of the best hospitals in the U.S. in 9 and 10 different specialties,respectively;and Nationwide Children's Hospital was named to U.S. News &World Report's select honor roll of U.S. Best Children's hospitals.
UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento,California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California,Davis campus. The medical center sits on a 142-acre (57 ha) campus (often referred to as the Sacramento Campus to distinguish it from the main campus in nearby Davis) located between the Elmhurst,Tahoe Park,and Oak Park residential neighborhoods. The site incorporates the land and some of the buildings of the former Sacramento Medical Center (which was acquired from the County of Sacramento in 1973) as well as much of the land (and two buildings) previously occupied by the California State Fair until its 1967 move to a new location.
The University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center (AHC) is a collection of health colleges and institutions of the University of Cincinnati,Cincinnati,Ohio. It trains health care professionals and provides research and patient care. AHC has strong ties to UC Health,which includes the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and West Chester Hospital.
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,United States,is the health sciences branch of the University of Oklahoma. It serves as the primary place of training for many of Oklahoma's health professions. It is one of only four health centers in the United States with seven professional colleges.
The University of New Mexico Hospital is a public teaching hospital located in Albuquerque,New Mexico,immediately north of the main campus of the University of New Mexico. The hospital is the only Level I trauma center in the state of New Mexico,and also houses the only certified burn unit and designated stroke center in the state. In addition,UNMH also contains the only children's hospital in New Mexico,and is the state's sole source of 13 pediatric sub-specialties. As a safety net hospital,UNMH serves a large percentage of the uninsured and under-insured population of the state. The hospital is the main teaching facility for the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. As of July 26,2023,UNMH has been the health care provider at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center.
Banner Health is a non-profit health system in the United States,based in Phoenix,Arizona. It operates 30 hospitals and several specialized facilities across 6 states. The health system is the largest employer in Arizona and one of the largest in the United States with over 50,000 employees.
An academic medical centre (AMC),variously also known as academic health science centre,academic health science system,or academic health science partnership,is an educational and healthcare institute formed by the grouping of a health professional school with an affiliated teaching hospital or hospital network.
The Mount Sinai Health System is a hospital network in New York City. It was formed in September 2013 by merging the operations of Continuum Health Partners and the Mount Sinai Medical Center.
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC) is a multidisciplinary academic medical center located in Columbus,Ohio,United States,on the main campus of Ohio State University. For 29 consecutive years,U.S. News &World Report has recognized Ohio State Wexner Medical Center specialties in its "Best Hospitals" rankings. In 2021,it recognized 10 Ohio State Wexner Medical Center specialties:Ear,Nose and Throat #8;Diabetes and Endocrinology #19;Cancer #27;Neurology and Neurosurgery #28;Pulmonology and Lung Surgery #29;Urology #31;Rehabilitation #31;Cardiology and Heart Surgery #38;Gynecology #46;and Gastroenterology and GI Surgery #50. USNWR also named the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center the best hospital in central Ohio and the second best hospital in the state.
Medical centers in the United States are conglomerations of health care facilities including hospitals and research facilities that also either include or are closely affiliated with a medical school. Although the term medical center is sometimes loosely used to refer to any concentration of health care providers including local clinics and individual hospital buildings,the term academic medical center more specifically refers to larger facilities or groups of facilities that include a full spectrum of health services,medical education,and medical research.
The Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) is the graduate medical school of Stony Brook University located in the hamlet of Stony Brook,New York on Long Island. Founded in 1971,RSOM is consistently ranked the top public medical school in New York according to U.S. News &World Report. RSOM is one of the five Health Sciences schools under the Stony Brook Medicine healthcare system.
The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine is a public medical school that was established on June 10,2015,and began operation in the fall of 2016. The school is in Hamilton Heights on the campus of The City College of New York (CCNY) and partners with Saint Barnabas Health System in the South Bronx,Harlem Hospital Center of NYC Health + Hospitals Corporation,and Staten Island University Hospital of Northwell Health for clinical medical education.
Clay Braden Marsh is an American physician,scientist,educator and university administrator. He has been vice president and executive dean for health sciences at West Virginia University since 2015. He is a member of the board of WVU Medicine,West Virginia's largest health care enterprise and largest employer.
Patricia Anne Gabow is an American academic physician,medical researcher,healthcare executive,author and lecturer. Specializing in nephrology,she joined the department of medicine,division of renal diseases,at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1973,advancing to a full professorship in 1987;she is presently Professor Emerita. She was the principal investigator on the National Institutes of Health Human Polycystic Kidney Disease research grant,which ran from 1985 to 1999,and defined the clinical manifestations and genetics of the disease in adults and children.
SreyRam Kuy is a Cambodian American surgeon,writer,researcher,and healthcare executive.
Jacqueline Nwando Olayiwola is an American family physician,public health professional,author,professor,and women's empowerment leader. She is the Senior Vice President and Chief Health Equity Officer of Humana and a chair and Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Prior to her appointment at OSU,she served as the inaugural Chief Clinical Transformation Officer for RubiconMD,an eConsult platform that improves primary care access to specialty care for underserved patients. Olayiwola is dedicated to serving marginalized patient populations and addressing the social determinants through community and technology-based infrastructures of healthcare reform. She has published articles on the use of eConsults and telehealth to provide underserved patients with primary care treatments so that they have a low cost and efficient means of reaching specialized care. Olayiwola has founded numerous non-profits and healthcare start-ups such as GIRLTALK Inc,Inspire Health Solutions LLC,and the Minority Women Professionals are MVPs Program. She has been recognized at the national and international level for her work and efforts to educate,advocate and provide healthcare to those in need. She was named Woman of the Year by the American Telemedicine Association in 2019,and received the Public Health Innovator Award from Harvard School of Public Health in 2019,as well as being named one of America's Top Family Doctors from 2007 to 2008 by the Consumers Research Council of America.
James R. Langabeer II is an American decision scientist,academic,and entrepreneur known for his theories on strategy and decision-making. He is the Robert H. Graham Professor of Entrepreneurial Biomedical Informatics and Bioengineering at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston,and maintains faculty appointments in the department of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry.
