Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG, Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN)
“We are thrilled that Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew’s remarkable leadership and the extraordinary impact she has had on the health and well-being of so many is being appropriately honored by Modern Healthcare.” – Cynthia Hundorfean, President and CEO, AHN
PITTSBURGH (PRWEB)
September 21, 2021
Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG, Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network(AHN), has been selected by Modern Healthcare magazine as one of the nation’s 2021 Top Diversity Leaders.
Modern Healthcare’s annual “Top Diversity Leaders” recognition a distinguished group of executives and organizations that are identified by an expert panel to be the heath care industry’s trailblazers in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. These leaders and organizations influence policy and health care delivery models across the country, while also nurturing and enhancing the industry’s diversity and equity standards. This year’s awardees include executives from health care institutions, education, and government, as well as entire companies.
“The 2021 class of Top Diversity Leaders lead the pack in health care,” said Modern Healthcare editor, Aurora Aguilar. “These are people and companies that exemplify ‘walking the walk.’”
Profiles of the Top Diversity Leaders will be published online at ModernHealthcare.com/top-diversity-leaders and in the Sept. 20 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine.
“When Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew came to AHN in 2020, we knew we were getting one of the country’s most respected diversity champions – someone who would advocate for equity and inclusion not just within our organization, but also for the millions of patients and customers who rely on us for world-class care and expect us to distribute it fairly and equitably,” said Cynthia Hundorfean, President and CEO of Allegheny Health Network.
“We are thrilled that her remarkable leadership, her lifetime of dedication to helping marginalized communities, and the extraordinary impact she has had on the health and well- being of so many throughout her career is being appropriately honored by Modern Healthcare.”
An internationally recognized expert in cultural humility within the health care field, and an obstetrician and gynecologist, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew has spent her career engaging marginalized communities and building programs that focus on promoting access and outcomes equity for vulnerable patients and mitigating socio-economic barriers to care.
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 – from the organization’s recruitment, employment and professional development practices and standards, to the quality of care and service it provides to every patient, customer and community.
The Institute has also led AHN’s and Highmark Health’s efforts to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are delivered equitably to marginalized populations, and to educate those living in marginalized communities about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines.
Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew joined AHN last year 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 served as CEO of University Hospitals’ WONDOOR (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 16 years, achieving the rank of lieutenant commander and completing an OBGYN internship at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. She completed a residency at Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, and practiced at Magee for 15 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), a Highmark Health company, 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 2,500 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, and HM Health Solutions. Highmark Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health insurance to more than 6 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 comprised of thirteen hospitals, more than 2,500 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 in western Pennsylvania. HM Health Solutions is focused on meeting the information technology platform and other business needs of the Highmark Health enterprise as well as unaffiliated health insurance plans by providing proven business processes, expert knowledge, and integrated cloud-based platforms. Lumevity, a wholly owned subsidiary of Highmark Health, 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