Elizabeth “Betsy” Bradley is the president of Vassar College and is one of the leading healthcare policy experts in the United States, including on the topic of social determinants of health. Betsy was on the faculty at Yale University for more than 20 years and most recently was the director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy. She’s written more than 300 peer-reviewed papers and three books, including The American Healthcare Paradox.

Betsy joins KP to discuss the importance of placing greater focus on the social determinants of health in the context of healthcare in the United States. Betsy talks about her journey to writing a bestselling book on the topic, leadership in health care, and diversity equity and inclusion.

Main Topics

• Betsy’s early career and her journey to health care policy and management and the pivotal moment in her career as a hospital administrator the lead to a passion for advancing better healthcare (4:00)
• How teaching an undergrad course in health policy at Yale University led to writing an op-ed for The New York Times and eventually her bestselling book, The American Healthcare Paradox (8:05)
• Answering the question of why does the United States spend so much money on healthcare but have worse health outcomes compared to other countries and how striking a better balance between social determinants and medical care could be the transformative answer (10:00)
• Betsy’s experience successfully leading Vassar College through the COVID-19 pandemic through organizational resilience, constructive conflict, a value system of equity, and maintaining alignment with a common goal (17:02)
• The younger generation’s focus on the intersection of social justice and health care as well as a greater emphasis on mental health (25:58)
• Vassar’s partnership with Columbia School of Public Health (27:36)
• The skills, values, leadership necessary in transforming healthcare system and the need for empathy in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) (29:15)

Episode Links

• The American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More is Getting Us Less
• The New York Times Article: "To Fix Health, Help the Poor"
• https://www.vassar.edu/faculty/ebradley

Connect with Betsy:

https://twitter.com/ehbvassar

Connect with KP:

linkedin.com/in/kaakpema-kp-yelpaala-379b269/

https://twitter.com/inonhealth

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