The American Heart Association is pleased with the announcement that former Chairman of the Board Neil Meltzer has been selected to serve as a member of the National Health Care Workforce Commission. The Commission, which was created under the health care reform law, will play an important role in ensuring that we have an adequate and well-qualified health care workforce to meet the current and future health care needs of all Americans.

Meltzer, COO and President of Mount Sinai Hospital and Senior Vice President of LifeBridge Health, is uniquely qualified to address the workforce challenges faced by a range of health care professionals, communities and health systems. Through his leadership in Baltimore and the state of Maryland, Meltzer has helped create innovative partnerships with local community colleges and universities to train of entry-level healthcare workers, brought together local funding agencies to place job coaches at hospitals to support and assist in worker success and satisfaction, aided in establishing a high school for students interested in pursuing health careers, and helped develop a strategic plan for the growth of biosciences in the Baltimore region. In his leadership role with the association, he has also been an outspoken advocate for the interests and needs of health care consumers and patients throughout the congressional debate on health care reform.

In this new position, Meltzer will have the opportunity to continue this work on behalf of health care consumers, including those with heart disease and stroke, by helping shape programs and policies to ensure we have an adequate and well-trained health workforce to meet the needs of the currently insured, those newly covered as a result of the patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the longer term challenges our health care system is facing with an increased emphasis on prevention, rapidly evolving medical science and an aging population. His contributions to this important work will be significant, and we congratulate him on his appointment.

Source:
American Heart Association