Hospital President: Health Equity Verifies Quality

n this episode of Quality Matters, host Andy Reynolds sits down with Tosan Boyo, President of Sutter Health East Bay Market, to discuss his inspiring journey from Nigerian immigrant to leading a major health care institution. Boyo shares how his early experiences as a patient in a safety-net hospital shaped his commitment to health equity and continue to shape his leadership. He reflects on key moments that drove his passion for providing equitable care and the responsibility health care leaders have in ensuring access for all.

Boyo highlights the importance of community engagement in health care workforce development, emphasizing the need for institutions to reflect the communities they serve.
He also highlights the crucial role of transparent data reporting in driving improvement and building trust. Boyo discusses the impact of partnerships and how collaboration sets a precedent for addressing inequities.

Tosan will participate in a panel discussion at NCQA's Health Innovation Summit, where he will discuss ongoing efforts and challenges in advancing equitable care. His insights offer a roadmap for ensuring that health care systems evolve to meet the needs of diverse communities.

Key Quote: 

“Health equity gives us tools and to validate we are living up to the thesis that motivates us to come to work every morning.  Fundamentally, delivering high quality outcomes is always the number one priority with that thesis being a foundation, how are we ensuring every patient is achieving the high quality outcome? We verify that by Saying let's stratify your outcome metrics by race and ensure that race is not a factor that one population is not getting the same high quality outcome Let's do it by language and ensure that language is not a barrier to access and not a barrier to following the instructions that you get from a physician. Let's verify by zip code, to understand socioeconomic status. How are we ensuring that regardless of zip code, you are getting the best care? These are different ways we can verify we are living up to the priority to deliver high quality outcomes.”

-Tosan Boyo

Time Stamps:

(00:57) Tosan Boyo's Journey into Health Care

(02:58) Defining Health Equity and Its Importance

(09:59) Building Trust and Community Relationships

(15:25) The Future of Health Equity

(18:45) The 2024 NCQA Health Innovation Summit

Links:

Connect with Tosan Boyo

CMS Universal Foundation

Tosan Boyo at Quality Talks 2022 

Institute of Medicine: Crossing the Quality Chasm