Dennis Pullin, President and CEO of Virtua Health, emphasizes the critical role of health literacy and community-focused care in cutting costs and improving health outcomes.

In this episode, Rebecca speaks with Dennis, whose career in healthcare leadership highlights the power of informed consumers and the need for continuous learning. Dennis shares insights from his experiences, including Virtua's development of "navigators" to guide patients through complex healthcare systems.

Dennis also highlights innovative projects like Virtua's mobile grocery store, which tackles food deserts with the help of employee-driven solutions. His leadership approach is grounded in community engagement, teamwork, and being a supportive, approachable presence for both staff and patients.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Empower through education by creating informed healthcare consumers, like Virtua’s "Healthy Schools, Healthy Families," to lower costs and improve care quality
• Be a change agent by advocating for health equity, learning from experiences, and surrounding yourself with a dependable team
• Promote community-centric care by addressing social determinants of health, like food insecurity and health literacy

Things to listen for:

(00:00) Intro

(01:04) How to raise future leaders

(06:32) The importance of continuous learning

(10:40) Creating a culture of service

(19:32) Health literacy and community wellness

(25:09) Innovative approaches to health equity

(29:31) From doubt to impact