Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew (MEd, MPPM, FACOG),Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN).
“The honorees’ efforts to provide greater opportunities internally while advancing health equity initiatives in their communities set a great example for others to follow.” Mary Ellen Podmolik, Modern Healthcare,
PITTSBURGH (PRWEB)
October 17, 2022
For the second year in a row, Pittsburgh’s Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, has been selected by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the industry’s Top Diversity Leaders.
Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew (MEd, MPPM, FACOG) is the Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN). A practicing obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew has spent her career engaging marginalized communities and building programs that promote access and outcomes equity for vulnerable patients and mitigate socio-economic barriers to care, particularly for women. She also is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Drexel University School of Medicine.
Modern Healthcare’s annual “Top Diversity Leaders” recognition celebrates a distinguished group of executives and organizations that are identified by an expert panel to be the nation’s trailblazers in the areas of health care diversity, equity, and inclusion.
These industry leaders influence policy and care delivery models across the country, while also nurturing and enhancing health care’s diversity and equity standards.
The 2022 individual awardees include leaders from health care institutions, education, and government.
“Since the day she arrived at AHN, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew has been a remarkable advocate for diversity and health care equity, and she has had an extraordinary impact on the people and communities we serve in the Western Pennsylvania region,” said Cynthia Hundorfean, President and CEO, AHN. “Her inclusion on this list, for a second straight year, speaks not only to her own professional accomplishments, and the achievements of her team, but also to AHN and Highmark Health’s organizational progress toward creating a more equitable health care environment.”
Profiles of the Top Diversity Leaders will be published online at ModernHealthcare.com/top-diversity-leaders and in the Oct. 17 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine.
“The honorees on Modern Healthcare’s 2022 lists of Top Diversity Leaders and Organizations demonstrate a willingness to devote the resources necessary to execute meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,” said Mary Ellen Podmolik, Modern Healthcare’s editor. “Their efforts to provide greater opportunities internally while advancing health equity initiatives in their communities set a great example for others to follow.”
At Highmark Health, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew and the AHN Equitable Health Institute — which she established — are advancing a comprehensive internal and external strategy designed to promote a culture of equity and inclusion across every component of the health and wellness enterprise. That strategy includes evaluation of the organization’s recruitment, its employment and professional development practices, and the quality of care and services it provides to every patient and community.
In 2021, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew and her team focused their efforts on equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution, ensuring that historically underserved communities and populations had equal access to the vaccine. In 2022, the Equitable Health Institute expanded its First Steps and Beyond program, a critical initiative established by AHN to reduce Black infant and fetal mortality and ensure that all babies born in the greater Pittsburgh region celebrate their first birthday.
Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew joined AHN in 2020 from University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, where she served as Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chair of Clinical Diversity and Inclusion and Assistant Dean of Students. She founded and continues to serve as CEO of the JustWondoor (Women and Neonates, Diversity, Outreach, Opportunity, Research) global health program; and in 2014, she was named the University’s Chair of Clinical Excellence and Diversity, an endowed position established to promote diversity of academic faculty.
Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Pittsburgh, a master’s degree in education from California State University, a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Pittsburgh and her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She served in the U.S. Navy for 13 years, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander and completing an OBGYN internship at Portsmouth Naval Hospital.
She also completed a residency at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, and practiced at Magee for eight years, while also serving as Magee’s Director of Global Health Programs.
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About the Allegheny Health Network:
Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org) is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of 14 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, Health + Wellness Pavilions, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute, and a group purchasing organization. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, trauma care, cardiovascular disease, organ transplantation, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women’s health, diabetes, autoimmune disease and more. AHN employs approximately 21,000 people, has more than 2,600 physicians on its medical staff and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
About Highmark Health
Highmark Health, a Pittsburgh, PA-based enterprise that employs more than 37,000 people who serve millions of Americans across the country, is the parent company of Highmark Inc., Allegheny Health Network, enGen, Helion, and Lumevity. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health insurance to approximately 6.8 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and New York, as well as dental insurance and related health products through a national network of diversified businesses. Allegheny Health Network is an integrated delivery network in western Pennsylvania comprised of 14 hospitals, more than 2,600 affiliated physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, an employed physician organization, home and community-based health services, a research institute, a group purchasing organization, and health and wellness pavilions. enGen’s dynamic ecosystem of smart automation and technology supports and streamlines complex operations for health plans and their provider partners. Helion works with payers to cultivate high-performing networks while empowering providers to operate at their best. Lumevity helps companies transform in ways that drive direct financial benefits while improving quality and increasing employee engagement. To learn more, visit http://www.highmarkhealth.org.