Fostering Humanism in Healthcare with Dr. Kathy Reeves

This episode’s Community Champion Sponsor is Ossur. To learn more about their ‘Responsible for Tomorrow’ Sustainability Campaign, and how you can get involved: CLICK HERE

---

Episode Overview: 

Championing compassion and restoring the human connection in healthcare- that's the driving force behind our next guest, Dr. Kathy Reeves, President and CEO of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation. With over two decades of experience in medical education, urban health, and health equity initiatives, Dr. Reeves brings a unique perspective on fostering humanism in healthcare.

As the leader of the esteemed Gold Foundation, she is determined to ensure that healthcare professionals provide care that is as compassionate as it is technologically sophisticated.

While together, Dr. Reeves shares her vision for creating human-centered spaces, empowering clinicians to prioritize the patient experience, and reshaping the culture of healthcare to prioritize kindness, safety, and trust. 

Join us for this important and inspiring conversation as Dr. Reeves shares how we can continue to work together to create systems and cultures that support humanistic care for all. Let’s go! 

Episode Highlights:

• The importance of keeping healthcare human and fostering the human connection, even as technology rapidly advances in the healthcare field.
• Dr. Reeves' personal experiences as a pediatrician in underserved communities like North Philadelphia, which taught her the value of understanding patients' life contexts to provide truly compassionate care.
• The Gold Foundation's mission to champion humanism in healthcare through initiatives like the white coat ceremony, Gold Humanism Honor Society, and the new "human-centered spaces" program.
• Dr. Reeves' vision for changing healthcare metrics to focus on how clinicians connect with patients, rather than just patient volume.
• The need to integrate the voice of local communities into medical education to bridge the gap between academic medical centers and the populations they serve.

About our Guest: 

Dr. Kathleen Reeves is the President and CEO of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the leading national nonprofit organization that champions humanism in healthcare. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Urban Health and Population Science, the Center for Urban Bioethics, and the Department of Pediatrics at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. Her specialties include the human connection in healthcare, ethics, trauma-informed care, substance misuse, urban health, healthcare professions education, and health equity.

She spent 20 years at the Katz School of Medicine before taking the helm of the Gold Foundation. Her leadership positions there included Founding Director, Center for Urban Bioethics; Chair, Department of Urban Health and Population Science; Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs; and inaugural Senior Associate Dean for the Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. She is a Gold Humanism Honor Society member and was previously recognized as an Honorable Mention for the Gold Foundation’s Pearl Hurwitz Humanism in Healthcare Award.

Dr. Reeves earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Juniata College, graduated from the Sidney Kimmel College of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, and completed her Pediatric Residency at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She is board certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric hospital medicine and continues to practice as a pediatric hospitalist. She has served in the leadership team as part of the Northeast Group on Student Affairs within the American Association of Medical Colleges.

Dr....