The Inaugural Joel S. Levine Health Policy Lecture
It was my great honor to host the inaugural Joel S. Levine Health Policy Lecture at
Downstate. This was the first of the annual lectureship and was launched with Dr.
Levine’s niece, Mandy Cohen, M.D., MPH as its inaugural speaker. Dr. Cohen is the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive
Officer of Aledade Care Solutions and former Secretary of the North Carolina Department
of Health and Human Services.
As a 1971 graduate of Downstate’s College of Medicine, Dr. Levine spent most of his
career in practice and administrative positions at Denver Health and the University
of Colorado School of Medicine. He also served as a Member and Chairman of the Board
of Regents for the American College of Physicians (ACP).
I first met Dr. Levine in 1994 when as a young internal medicine resident at Baylor
College of Medicine, I was elected to the National Resident Council of the ACP. I
learned a great deal about the art of medicine from his passion for patient care,
serving communities, and simply doing the right thing in healthcare.
Working with the Obama administration, Dr. Levine played a pivotal role in the campaign
for national healthcare reform. A number of his recommendations became pillars of
the Affordable Care Act, including universal access to affordable coverage and federal
policy that supported patient-centered healthcare.
I had the privilege of awarding Dr. Levine an honorary Doctor of Science degree in
2019 in recognition of his outstanding service to the United States and his vision
of a healthcare system that would provide insurance coverage to all Americans.
Because he was such a strong supporter of Downstate, prior to his death, Dr. Levine
generously offered to endow a visiting lectureship at Downstate focused on expanding
access to care for the underserved, health policy, and increasing physician diversity.
I have never forgotten his friendship as a young physician. He was a consistent and
a great person who cared deeply about the impact and importance of healthcare for
communities with the greatest need.
I look forward to nurturing this project and ensuring that future Dr. Joel S. Levine
lectures are appropriately befitting of his legacy.
To listen to Dr. Cohen’s address, “Leading with Equity through the COVID Crisis,”
click here.
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Nearly 40 students from the College of Nursing, the School of Public Health, and the School of Health Professions participated in an Interprofessional Clinical Case Study session hosted by SOHP. The
annual event introduced students to the value of interprofessional education, collaboration
and a multidisciplinary, integrated team approach to healthcare. 
I am pleased to share that Best Universities, an online higher education research
organization, has released its 2022 list of the Best Small Colleges in America. 
College of Nursing faculty presented two projects at the 2022 National Organization
of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) 48th Annual Conference held in Minneapolis last week. The organization represents a global
network of NP educators and is the only one specifically devoted to promoting high-quality
nurse practitioner education.
