As senior director of the Health Equity Program Support Office (HEPSO), Wendy provides oversight of six University of Rochester Medical Center initiatives—Integrating Care, Patient Navigation, Health Equity System Transformation, Health Equity Informatics, Strategic Community Partnerships and System-Level Partnerships—to improve and integrate healthcare delivery systems across service lines and environments. But she has two other unofficial titles: chief dot-connector and barrier-buster.

Wendy and her HEPSO team put plans in action, enabling the system-level change that improves access to healthcare and help make the medical center a preferred destination for patients—regardless of race, gender, gender identity or expression, or other aspects of identity. A prime example of this work is the Patient Language Accessibility Taskforce. Born out of the recognition that the University could improve its ability to communicate with individuals for whom English is not a first language, the taskforce has been diligently addressing basic issues brought forward by patients and community partners. Overall, the goal is to accommodate the many languages and cultures of medical center patients and their families in ways they feel welcome, respected, and heard as recipients and advocates of care.

Wendy points out that the healthcare environment has seen unprecedented changes over the last decade and the medical center has continually responded to the ever-increasing pressures. “Rochester is filled with energy,” she says. “People across the institution are primed to ask hard questions and develop shared solutions. I approach building programs and solving problems with a curious mind and boundless energy, laser-focused on enabling equitable care models for all of our patients. I am dedicated to creating a better healthcare delivery system so that all members of our community can live healthy, full lives.”

Postscript: Wendy is starting a new role! As of May 1, she will be the senior program director for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and will still be “laser-focused on equity (among other things).”