Empire BlueCross, in partnership with the Albany Business Review, has named Steven Hanks, M.D., chief clinical officer for St. Peter’s Health Partners (SPHP), an Empire Whole Health Hero. Dr. Hanks is one of 25 individuals and teams chosen for the inaugural award, which honors and celebrates those who have helped to improve the health, wellness and safety of the Capital Region during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. Hanks leads SPHP’s pandemic response and has been a trusted resource for the community throughout the past year. In this critical role, he has brought together not only SPHP’s 12,000 colleagues, but also initiated unprecedented coordination among all regional hospitals to respond to the evolving nature of the novel virus. The coordinated regional effort involved shared hospital resources; daily reporting to local, state, and federal authorities; and media briefings to inform the community and internal audiences. His efforts on these fronts have served as a model for health care systems across New York state. Internally, his regular briefings have brought reassurance and comfort to colleagues during a time of great uncertainty and unease. And he has done all of this while leading SPHP’s complicated transition to the EPIC electronic health records system.
SPHP would like to congratulate Dr. Hanks on being named an Empire Whole Health Hero, and for his dedication and leadership which have helped our health care system navigate this crisis. Thank you for all you do!
The Albany Business Review has posted a recording of the virtual event announcing the honorees on its website, which you can view by following this link: https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/partner-insights/whole-health-heroes/2021.
