Healthcare Leaders of New York (HLNY) Call for Healthcare Executives to Pay it Forward with Mentorship to Help End Healthcare Disparities

NEW YORK, July 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to positively impact healthcare disparities, a first-of-its-kind scholarship - Leonard Achan Sr. Health Equity Scholarship fund – was established in 2020.  Now, HLNY is calling on senior healthcare executives to serve as mentors to early careerist scholarship recipients in an attempt to shape future healthcare  leaders to improve the quality, equity, and inclusiveness of healthcare delivery in New York.

In late 2020, Healthcare Leaders of New York, the NY Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), heard a unique proposal. The concept was to think of a new way to address the lack of mentorship in New York for aspiring healthcare leaders dedicated to changing healthcare disparities.

"Financial awards are just not enough," said Leonard Achan RN, MA, ANP , Board Member at Large of HLNY and 23-year veteran senior NYC healthcare executive who founded and seeded the eponymous scholarship fund in honor of his late father." We all know that future healthcare leaders - especially those focused on the community - need access to something more valuable than scholarship money. They need sponsorship and mentorship in order to be in the best position one day to influence changes that will improve health equity,"

The Achan Scholarship is unique in both its funding model as well as its practical efforts to empower recipients with exclusive access to real-world expert mentors which provide a foundation for career success for scholarship recipients.

"We have all been there, looking for guidance and being raised in low-income housing to an immigrant family I can appreciate even more the value and access to mentorship," said Sam Lin, HLNY President. "Some are fortunate enough to get it early, but many still need it or haven't had access to mentors at all. Healthcare Executives in New York are some of the best and most accomplished leaders in the world and we need you to give an hour of your time a month to now pay it forward and share your knowledge with the new leaders you are entrusting your patients to."

HLNY is now calling on corporations, foundations and healthcare leaders to donate to this fund so that they can establish more scholarships. But more important, HLNY is calling for healthcare executives to donate their time remotely or in person for one hour each month for a year. Any healthcare executive with greater than 10 years of experience at the AVP level and above is being asked to serve as a mentor. Retired executives are also a wealth of knowledge and we ask you also to consider paying It forward to improve healthcare for all.

Since the scholarship was established in late 2020, seven students dedicated to community health and the pursuit of ending healthcare disparities in the future have been awarded the Leonard Achan Sr. Health Equity Scholarship while attending Universities in New York. Congratualtions to the recipients to date- Dialikatou Diallo, New York Medical College,  Khadijatu Muhammad, Stony Brook University, Mariam Janneh, LIU Post, Halim Kaygisiz, Stony Brook University, Jocelyn Perez, Columbia University, Zara Muzzafar, Hofstra University, Pragati Chaudhary, Cornell University.

About HLNY

HLNY is the local, New York Metropolitan, chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), an international professional society of more than 40,000 healthcare executives. We support high ethical standards and conduct and promote the mission of ACHE. Through HLNY, ACHE members have access to local professional development and networking events, mentoring, and career services which include a jobs data bank and resume support.

Our mission is to advance healthcare leadership and management excellence through professional enrichment and continuing education of our members. For more information, visit www.HLNY.org

To donate to the Leonard Achan Sr. Health Equity Scholarship Fund please visit here

To sign-up to be a mentor, please visit here

Press Contact:
Darren Deoraj, Secretary, HLNY
[email protected]

SOURCE Healthcare Leaders of New York