Linda Dellorusso, MD, MBA

Biography

Matt Fishman is Vice President for Community Health at Partners. Since 1994, he has led Partners’ efforts to collaborate with community health centers, consumer advocates, and other community leaders to make measurable progress on public health problems. These include racial disparities, substance abuse, violence, low birth weight, and chronic illnesses in the communities Partners and its hospitals serve. In addition, Matt focuses on improving systems of care for low income patients, on providing affordable insurance through implementation of the landmark Massachusetts and Federal health reform laws, and on economic opportunity and workforce development, especially for low income young people.

Matt began his career in state government. He served as Budget Director for the Department of Public Welfare and then as Assistant Secretary of Human Services. He helped to develop and obtain funding for what became a nationally recognized job training and child care program for women on public assistance. Matt also played a key role in Massachusetts’ first effort to design a statewide universal health insurance system in 1987-90. He then worked at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He was the Emergency Department administrator and worked with community health center leaders to respond to racial disparities in infant mortality.