TriHealth Appoints Dr. Thomas Shockley, Jr. Chief Equity Officer
TriHealth, a leading Cincinnati-based integrated health system, has announced that Dr. Thomas Shockley, Jr., TriHealth orthopedic surgeon and Associate Chief Medical Officer for the Bethesda North region, has been appointed to the newly created role of Chief Health Equity Officer for Trihealth, effective immediately.
As Chief Health Equity Officer, Dr. Shockley will join TriHealth’s Executive Leadership Team to guide the development of TriHealth’s new Center for Health Equity. The new Center will enable TriHealth to proactively address social determinants of health and health disparities -- preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations -- in order to achieve better health outcomes and greater health equity for all patients cared for within the Cincinnati community. This will be accomplished using new and existing system resources and competencies, including analytics and data management, to understand and address health disparities amount patients.
"Dr. Shockley is a respected member of our medical community who has spent years as a passionate and tireless champion for improving patient safety and reliability, as well as quality and health equity,” TriHealth CEO Mark Clement said. “As a physician, Dr. Shockley understands firsthand the direct and significant impact social determinants of health, health equity and diversity, equity and inclusion have on the access, clinical settings and outcomes patients experience. Addressing these factors is a vital part of getting healthcare right, and we are grateful Dr. Shockley has accepted this new role.”
“I am proud of TriHealth’s continued commitment to serving Cincinnati’s diverse patient population and am honored for the chance to serve as the health system’s Chief Health Equity Officer,” Dr. Shockley said. “Getting healthcare right means taking the time to learn about all of the health disparities affecting patients, which includes identifying and addressing social determinants of health. I’m excited for the opportunity to serve Cincinnati’s patients in this new role.”
TriHealth has proactively worked throughout the last year to accelerate efforts to eliminate health disparities and achieve greater health equity for patients throughout Cincinnati. This work included appointing Tira Williams, RN, to the newly created role of Director of Health Disparities one year ago. These new roles work in concert with TriHealth’s Chief Diversity Officer; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion + Belonging team and senior leadership to identify and adopt health equity best practices. This team also consults with industry experts and thought leaders to assist in creating a Health Equity Roadmap, with the resources and organizational structure to meaningfully address health disparities.