Nationally Recognized Health Care Expert to Present 2021 Hackley Lecture
Lloyd F. Dean will present Health Equity: Path to Justice at the 2021 Charles H. Hackley Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities on Zoom on Thursday, May 6 at 7 p.m. This 39th lecturer is CEO of CommonSpirit Health, a nonprofit health system in 21 states with 150,000 employees focusing on creating healthier communities in innovative ways. The sponsor of the free event, The Friends of Hackley Public Library, recognizes the optimum timing of this lecture topic and the unique qualifications of Dean’s expertise.
Like all Hackley Distinguished Lecturers, Dean has ties to the Muskegon area. As the second oldest child, he moved with his parents, Susie and Floyd Dean, Sr. and two of his eventual eight siblings, from Alabama to a Twin Lake three-bedroom home when his father took a job at one of Muskegon’s foundries. He attended Whitehall Schools and was a very active member of the Whitehall High School class of 1968’s top students, in the band and an officer of the student council.
After he graduated from high school, Dean continued his education at Western Michigan University, where he received his undergraduate degree in sociology and his master’s in education. He later graduated from Pennsylvania State University’s Executive Management program and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of San Francisco. After receiving his master’s, he taught junior high school while also working for WMU in Kalamazoo, where he had many connections with Upjohn executives. These connections led to an offer to work for a large pharmaceutical company. He quickly climbed the professional ladder in health care. In 2000, he became Chief Executive Officer of Dignity Health, headquartered in San Francisco. A merger formed CommonSpirit Health in 2018, and he is now their CEO.
A passionate advocate for health care reform and stopping racial and other health service disparities, Mr. Dean was actively engaged with President Obama’s Cabinet on health care issues. He participated directly in health care reform discussions leading to the Affordable Care Act. He continues his dedication to eliminating the social disparities at the root problems behind many health issues by serving numerous leadership capacities addressing this social problem. Now living in California, Lloyd and his wife Suzanne have two children, Nathan and Nicole.
Dean will deliver his speech, Health Equity: Path to Justice, on Zoom at 7 p.m. May 6. Registration is required to attend the event. To receive the link to the event, visit the Friends of the Library website at friendsofhackleypubliclibrary.org.
Three commendees for Service to the Humanities will be recognized at the May 6 event: Judy Johnson and Dr. F. Remington, and Ginny Sprague. All have been very active with the Muskegon Civic Theater, as well as other local organizations.