New role focuses on leading system-wide patient care and health equity efforts

Boston, MA, May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH has been named the inaugural Chief Community Health Equity Officer for Mass General Brigham. In this new role, Taveras will work collaboratively with leaders from across the system to lead Mass General Brigham forward as a force for change in confronting inequity and racism. Taveras will lead the system efforts of United Against Racism focused on patient care and health equity and will drive a new systemwide strategy in community health; all with a focus on demonstrable outcomes. 

“Dr. Taveras is the perfect choice for this newly created role as she has extensive experience implementing evidence-based programs in both clinical and community settings,” said Tom Sequist, MD, MPH, Mass General Brigham Chief Patient Experience and Equity Officer. “There is tremendous work already underway across Mass General Brigham and by harnessing this collective strength under Dr. Taveras’ leadership we will accelerate our progress, making a difference in the lives of our patients and the communities we serve across the region and beyond.” 

Taveras currently serves as the Chief of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics and Executive Director of the Kraft Center for Community Health at Mass General Hospital. She will start her new role in mid-May while continuing her research work in the Department of Pediatrics at Mass General Hospital for Children and her leadership of the Kraft Center for Community Health at Mass General Hospital. 

As the Executive Director of the Kraft Center for Community Health, a national center devoted to spreading innovative health equity best practices in underserved communities, Taveras has led programs related to substance use treatment, cancer care equity, obesity prevention and community health training. Under her leadership, the Kraft Center launched a mobile addiction program that has become a best practice for the delivery of addiction services for stigmatized populations. The Department of Public Health recently awarded a $12M grant to support state-wide expansion.  

Taveras’ leadership, passion and expertise has been recognized widely. She has published more than 250 research studies and has received continuous research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the American Diabetes Association, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Boston Foundation, among many other federal and foundation sources. 

In 2016, Taveras received the Public Health Leadership in Medicine Award from the Massachusetts Association of Public Health for her extensive work improving health and health care in community-based settings. In 2017, Taveras was promoted to Professor of Pediatrics becoming the first Latina at Harvard Medical School to reach that rank in Pediatrics. In 2018, she received the Conrad Taff Endowed Chair at Harvard Medical School, becoming the first Latina to hold an Endowed Professorship across Harvard Medical School and at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also a Professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Media Contact
Mass General Brigham:
Bridget Perry bperry7@partners.org      

About Mass General Brigham
Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic healthcare system, uniting great minds in medicine to make life-changing impact for patients in our communities and people around the world. Mass General Brigham connects a full continuum of care across a system of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a health insurance plan, physician networks, community health centers, home care, and long-term care services. Mass General Brigham is a non-profit organization that is committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. In addition, Mass General Brigham is one of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations and a principal teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information, please visit massgeneralbrigham.org.

Bridget Perry
Mass General Brigham
9784826630
bperry7@partners.org