‘Long standing equity gaps’: CEO of Mass. community health network providing care for all

BOSTON — Access to quality health care is important, but that doesn’t mean it’s always available to everyone who needs it.

Statistics show positive outcomes for people of color lag behind the general population.

Greg Wilmot is the CEO and President of NeighborHealth, the largest community health center in Massachusetts.  He dreams of leveling the playing field for people who need basic medical attention.

NeighborHealth has more than a dozen clinical locations spread across their various campuses which stretch from Boston’s South End up to Revere.

In all, these community health centers serve about 130,000 people a year.

Wilmot takes pride in bringing top notch care to people who might otherwise go without.

For example, their South End facility recently upgraded its radiology services to provide easier access to mammograms.

“Timely access to diagnostic tools is going to lead to more timely treatment and is going to ultimately address long standing equity gaps that we know exist in our communities,” Wilmot explained.

He cited breast cancer as example.

“Black women have a 40% higher likelihood of death from breast cancer than white women although the prevalence of the disease is less pronounced in the Black community.  What we’re seeing is that Black women were being diagnosed much later than others, largely because of access to cancer screenings.”

Wilmot’s calling to help others started early in life.

He credits his mother for his success.

She was an immigrant from the Caribbean who came to Boston in the 1970s.  A single mom, she raised Wilmot and his brother while working multiple jobs.

“She was really focused on education and really instilled a work ethic.”

From Boston’s neighborhoods to Boston College for a bachelor’s degree and to Northeastern University for an MBA, Wilmot never forgot his humble beginnings.

It’s a lifetime of experiences he brings to the job every day.

“I have experienced firsthand, and I see firsthand, the challenge that families face when navigating health care in the city.”

Today, he’s got the corner office at a time when only about 6% of all CEO’s are Black, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“I do think to the extent that in just seeing that representation in the room, or the boardroom, or in an executive capacity, to the extent that serves as an inspiration to other people of color, I think that’s very important, but it also comes with an obligation.”

That comes as the organization could be heading into choppy waters.

Almost 2/3rds of their patients are either uninsured or on Medicaid and the future of federal funding is murky at best.

“It’s a tough reality I think that we have to grapple with, but our health care system isn’t designed to provide high quality health care sustainably to poor people and that’s what we need to change.”

Wilmot worries about patients stalling, or even foregoing, their treatment.

“What we know is when we can treat people further upstream, when we can serve them thru primary care and preventative care medicine, when we can get at the social drivers of health or social determinants of health earlier, it’s going to help us avoid downstream expensive health care.”

The job is challenging and promises to be even more challenging in the days ahead.

Still, Wilmot thinks about where he came from, where he’s going, and hopes it provides some inspiration for tomorrow’s leaders.

“One of the things I would share with young people is that when you’re doing the difficult work of change, there will be resistance,” said Wilmot.  “I would encourage young people not to be deterred by resistance.  It’s important sometimes to lean in and lead thru.”

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