Two Penn Medicine executives were recognized for outstanding leadership by the Healthcare Leadership Network of the Delaware Valley (HLNDV), the local chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center CEO Michele Volpe, MEd, MBA, a fellow of the ACHE, received the Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Award. Hisham Valiuddin, DO, assistant medical director of Emergency Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, won the Early Career Healthcare Executive Award. Candidates are nominated by their peers and associates.
The awards were presented at HLNDV’s annual Breakfast with the Regents event, held virtually on March 2. The event attracted over 150 attendees, including an impressive turnout from Penn Medicine employees. University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Kevin Mahoney joined to offer his support and appreciation to both awardees.
Michele Volpe, MEd, MBA
Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Award
Mahoney, who nominated Volpe for the senior-level award, said the Presby CEO “embodies everything a health care executive should be.”
“Michele has the passion for patient care, she’s always had a voice, she’s never been afraid to speak up – it’s been so critical to her success – and lastly, her presence … Michele is omnipresent. If I need her at 2 o’clock in the morning, she answers,” Mahoney said.
Volpe has led PPMC for two decades and currently chairs the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania.
“As a leader I have always seen one of my primary responsibilities as to attract the best team of diversified talent, but all with the same drive to make systems we operate within better for the patients that rely on them,” she said after accepting the award. “My team at Penn Presbyterian is incredible. They make me look good every day and I am forever grateful for their hard work and dedication to our mission, values, and community.”
In Volpe’s remarks, she said mentoring emerging leaders should be “hardwired” into the job description of senior executives. She highlighted the new Penn Medicine ACHE Leadership Program to develop leaders across the system. The one-year program, which kicked off in September 2021 with a cohort of 59 leaders, prepares participants for the Board of Governors Exam to become a Fellow of ACHE. As part of the internal process to prepare for the exam, Volpe said, the participants establish mentor relationships with other leaders who have an interest in their future.
Hisham Valiuddin, DO
Early Career Healthcare Executive Award
Valiuddin is a key member of the HUP emergency medicine operations team, leading multidisciplinary teams through planning, analyzing, and executing projects focused on organizational change. In his role as a fellow in Emergency Medicine Administration, Operations and Leadership in the department of Emergency Medicine at HUP, he is also pursuing an Executive MBA through the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition, Valiuddin is enlisted in the Philadelphia Medical Reserves, helping with public-health emergencies locally. Most recently, he provided care to the Afghan refugees who arrived at the Philadelphia International Airport, working in conjunction with the U.S. Army, Air Force, CDC, FEMA, and Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
“Health care has never been harder than it is today,” he says. “I am extremely grateful to all of the team here at Penn Medicine and the excellent mentors that I have personally relied on time and time again to help… make the right decisions and help the people that we do every day.”