This month’s Homegrown Hero is Dr. Steven Peskin, Exec. Medical Dir., Population Health & Transformation, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ. We caught up with him to know his story about his career and how his working routine has changed since the pandemic started. We thank Dr. Steven Peskin for all his efforts and for inspiring our club with his acts. This year’s initiative includes giving $1,000 to a charity of our Homegrown Hero’s choice, and for this month, Dr. Steven Peskin selected the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Tell me about your career and what inspires you every day?
"I have enjoyed and found tremendously rewarding my career in Medicine and Healthcare as a clinician, an educator, and in administrative medicine. Medicine has afforded me many opportunities to help others, to continuously learn and to mentor others including students, trainees and colleagues. For the past ten years, I have worked collaboratively with nurses, physicians, other health care professionals, care givers, health administrators, community organizations as a physician executive at Horizon BCBSNJ. It has been gratifying to positively impact and to improve health, health outcomes, to increase preventive services and to enhance experience of care and service in concert with our clinical partners."
How much have your job duties changed since the pandemic started?
"Like many of us, the COVID pandemic resulted in primarily work from home. While I do not miss commuting (!), I do miss the in-person interactions with my colleagues. Our work at Horizon with clinical organizations continues, albeit primarily on virtual platforms. I continue to see patients on Tuesday’s at The Eric B. Chandler Clinic in New Brunswick as a clinical preceptor in the Rutgers RWJ Internal Medicine residency program. Being involved in direct patient care assists me to stay connected to my clinical colleagues in our innovation and transformation work at Horizon."
What’s the biggest lesson/s you’ve learned during this time period?
"The pandemic has reinforced for me the ongoing need to learn new skills, to emphasize celebrating success, the primacy of family and close friends, lessons on resiliency and the importance of community."
