Expanding the Reach of Health Care Education: A Conversation with Dr. Edward Healton
By Naomi Greenberg (C'24)
Ever since he was a young child in a suburb of Sacramento, California, Dr. Edward Healton, who now serves as the executive vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the Georgetown University School of Medicine, knew he wanted to be a doctor. But the image he had in mind was far from the vision he has now of what it means to work in health care. In our Conversations in Health: Global to Local class on March 12, 2024, the esteemed health expert shared his experience as a doctor, health care leader, and educator, explaining how the field of medicine has changed across his career.
Thinking back to the beginning of his medical career, Healton explained how his time in Harlem, New York, was the catalyst for his desire to think critically about the status quo of health care. After an undergraduate education at the University of Oregon and a medical education at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, Healton began working as a physician in Harlem Hospital in the 1970s. According to Healton, this period was “a very rich experience, for many different reasons.” He saw starkly how the social determinants of health—such as where patients lived and their socioeconomic status—impacted their health outcomes. A striking image for Healton was how the New York City subway stop a patient would get on and off at was such a reliable predictor of health outcomes.
This experience galvanized Healton to reconsider the underlying paradigm of health care. He took on numerous leadership positions, starting with the role of president of a doctor’s union at Harlem Hospital and leading all the way to his current role at Georgetown University.
This vast leadership experience has left Healton with nuggets of advice to share with the next generation of potential health and science leaders. Healton recommended leading by example, as he did while continuing to work in neurology during his tenure as medical director at Harlem Hospital. He also emphasized the importance of keeping a broad, goal-oriented perspective. On a more personal side, Healton said he has always tried to cultivate close partnerships and focus on being a good listener. But above all, Healton said his success in leadership has come from his deep care for the institutions and communities to which he has belonged.
As a vocal leader in the call to make health care more interdisciplinary, Healton argued that medicine should extend from “bench to bedside to population,” rather than staying narrowly focused on the interaction between a doctor and a patient. This perspective, Healton explained, is especially relevant for academic institutions such as Georgetown that have the capacity to foster interdisciplinary collaboration.
In his current role as executive vice president of Georgetown’s School of Medicine, Healton has helped cultivate the Health Justice Alliance (a medical-legal partnership), the Health Sciences Strategy Initiative (HHSI), and other interdisciplinary programs. For the future, Healton hopes that medicine will become more interconnected with other disciplines and more equitable throughout society. As he reaches retirement and begins the next chapter of his life, Healton’s legacy at Georgetown will be one of forging connections, pushing boundaries, and caring deeply for others.
Naomi Greenberg (C'24) is an undergraduate student in Georgetown University’s College of Arts & Sciences studying biology, with a minor in journalism. She is a student in the Conversations in Health: Global to Local course.