Dr. David Lubarsky, President and CEO of Westchester Medical Center

Summary

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast: In-Depth Conversation with Dr. David Lubarsky, President and CEO of Westchester Medical Center Health Network

Release Date: June 28, 2025

In the latest episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast, host MacKenzie Bean engages in a compelling discussion with Dr. David Lubarsky, the newly appointed President and CEO of Westchester Medical Center Health Network. This long-form summary captures the essence of their conversation, highlighting key insights, leadership philosophies, strategic priorities, and visionary thoughts on the future of healthcare.

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1. Introduction to the Podcast and Guest

MacKenzie Bean opens the episode by welcoming Dr. David Lubarsky, expressing excitement about his new role at Westchester Medical Center Health Network. Bean emphasizes the significance of Dr. Lubarsky’s appointment and sets the stage for an enlightening conversation about his leadership journey and the future of the organization.

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2. Dr. Lubarsky’s Background and Return to Westchester

Dr. Lubarsky provides a comprehensive overview of his illustrious career in healthcare, spanning various prestigious institutions across the United States.

• Career Journey: Starting at Duke University, moving to the University of Miami, serving as CEO at UC Davis in Sacramento for seven years, and returning to Westchester Medical Center where he completed his medical internship 40 years ago.

• Personal Connection: “I’m very lucky to have had a very interesting career across the United States... I grew up and graduated high school four miles from here,” he shares (00:38).

Dr. Lubarsky’s return to Westchester is portrayed as a homecoming, bringing a wealth of experience from diverse roles, including academic anesthesiologist, department chair, and professor across multiple disciplines.

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3. Leadership Lessons Learned

When asked about the most significant leadership lessons, Dr. Lubarsky imparts three foundational principles:

1. Empowerment Over Directives: “You can never tell people what to do, right? That’s always a failed strategy” (01:58).
2. Growth Over Cutting: “There is no such thing as cutting your way to greatness. You can only grow into that.”
3. Fostering Collective Success: “If you focus on making everybody around you successful, you're successful.”

These insights underscore a leadership philosophy centered on empowerment, sustainable growth, and collective achievement.

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4. Change Management and Strategic Implementation

Delving deeper into his leadership approach, Dr. Lubarsky emphasizes the critical role of change management.

• Influence of John Kotter: “I was fortunate enough once to meet John Kotter, and he’s even smarter than it seems from the books...”

• Importance of Structured Change: Dr. Lubarsky advocates for meticulous, step-by-step processes in implementing change, cautioning against shortcuts that many leaders might be tempted to take. “Shortcutting it, like I said, trying to tell people what to do doesn’t work...” (02:35).

His approach aligns with Kotter’s eight-step change model, highlighting the necessity of building coalitions, effective communication, and addressing resistance to change to achieve better patient outcomes.

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5. Handling Medicaid Uncertainty

Addressing the prevalent concerns surrounding Medicaid and potential funding cuts, Dr. Lubarsky offers a sobering analysis of the challenges facing public hospitals.

• Sustained Demand for Services: “No matter how much they [Medicaid] cut, they’re not gonna cut the need for healthcare” (04:40).

• Impact on Public Hospitals: He elucidates the growing strain on public hospitals like Westchester, which serve as primary care providers for underserved communities. “Public hospitals will become primary care again for many underserved communities... it’s about begging the public hospital system” (05:46).

Dr. Lubarsky emphasizes the crucial role of Westchester Medical Center in providing consistent care amidst financial uncertainties, highlighting the impending challenges if Medicaid support diminishes.

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6. Goals and Priorities for the Next Year

Looking ahead, Dr. Lubarsky outlines his strategic vision for Westchester Medical Center over the next 12 months.

• Enhancing Service Quality: “My goal is to make it so that even if you could drive into New York City, you would choose not to” (06:53). He aims to ensure that Westchester’s services not only compete with but exceed those of nearby NYC hospitals.

• Comprehensive Care Centers: As a Level One Trauma Center, children’s hospital, burn center, and transplant center, Westchester serves as the only comprehensive care provider north of New York City. Dr. Lubarsky aspires to bolster these services to attract patients locally.

His strategy centers on creating a robust healthcare ecosystem that prioritizes quality and accessibility, reducing the necessity for patients to seek care outside their community.

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7. Insights from Listening Tours

In his initial months, Dr. Lubarsky conducted extensive listening tours across the network’s ten facilities, gaining valuable insights into community needs and operational dynamics.

• Community Engagement: “I’ve made it a real point to try and meet all of the local legislators, the mayors, the county supervisors...” (07:03). This proactive engagement ensures that the health network aligns its services with the specific needs of each community.

• Bilateral Relationships with Employers: Dr. Lubarsky identifies the importance of fostering mutually beneficial relationships with local employers. Instead of viewing employers merely as sources of patient referrals, he seeks to collaborate on expanding services and enhancing community health outcomes.

These insights reflect his commitment to integrating the health network more deeply into the fabric of each community it serves, ensuring relevance and responsiveness to local needs.

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8. The Role of AI and IT in the Future of Healthcare

Concluding the conversation, Dr. Lubarsky shares his enthusiasm for technological advancements, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), and its transformative potential in healthcare.

• Previous Experience with AI: At UC Davis, he spearheaded the implementation of nearly 100 AI-driven programs, emphasizing the importance of foundational IT investments.

• Ethical and Practical Implementation: “You’ve got to pick those companies as true partners who have an ethical approach and a very careful way of validating their work” (09:29). Dr. Lubarsky advocates for strategic partnerships that prioritize ethical standards and tangible benefits for both patients and employees.

• Enhancing Employee and Patient Experience: He underscores that AI should not only improve patient outcomes but also contribute to employee satisfaction and efficiency, fostering an environment where quality care can thrive.

Dr. Lubarsky envisions AI as a powerful tool that, when implemented thoughtfully, can revolutionize healthcare delivery and operational efficiency.

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9. Conclusion

MacKenzie Bean wraps up the episode by expressing gratitude for Dr. Lubarsky’s insightful contributions and wishes him success in his pivotal role. Dr. Lubarsky reciprocates the thanks, underscoring his dedication to advancing Westchester Medical Center’s mission.

Notable Quotes:

• “You can never tell people what to do, right? That’s always a failed strategy.” – Dr. David Lubarsky (01:58)

• “Public hospitals will become primary care again for many underserved communities.” – Dr. David Lubarsky (05:46)

• “AI is just a tool and we get to decide how it’s utilized and it doesn’t have to be bad.” – Dr. David Lubarsky (09:29)

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Final Thoughts

This episode of the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast provides a comprehensive look into Dr. David Lubarsky’s leadership philosophy, strategic priorities, and vision for the future of Westchester Medical Center Health Network. His emphasis on listening, ethical leadership, community engagement, and technological innovation offers valuable lessons for healthcare professionals and organizations aiming to navigate the complexities of today’s healthcare landscape.

Transcript

[A]

Hello, everyone.

[B]

This is MacKenzie Bean, AVP and managing editor with Becker's Healthcare. Thanks for tuning in to the Becker's Healthcare podcast series for this episode. I'm so thrilled to be joined by Dr. David Lubarsky, Network President and CEO of Westchester Medical Center Health Network just outside of New York. Dr. Lubarski, thank you so much for being here today and joining us.

[A]

Thank you for the invitation.

[B]

Of course. So excited to have you here today to chat about your new role. I understand you're eight weeks into it at this point point which is very exciting. Can you tell us a little bit more just about yourself and then Westchester Medical center in general?

[A]

Oh, sure. So I'm very lucky to have had a very interesting career across the United States. Have started my career at Duke, ended up at the University of Miami, then was CEO at UC Davis in Sacramento for seven years and recently came full circle back to Westchester Medical center where I did my internship in medicine 40 years ago and grew up and graduated high school four miles from there. Wow.

[B]

Return to home, really?

[A]

Yeah, it's really lovely. And along the way, just, you know, I've had a lot of different positions, not only as obviously CEO, academic anesthesiologist, chair of a very, very large department, the CMO of a big health system down at University of Miami, was the CEO of a thousand physician practice for a while. So have touched many different corners of healthcare in those roles and really appreciate bringing my full skill set to my new job. Am I been a professor of nursing, a professor of business, as well as a professor of medicine for a quarter of a century.

[B]

Diverse career, almost hitting every coast, and a lot of different experiences. I'm curious, over that time, what do you think has been the biggest leadership lesson you've learned and how do you put that into practice now?

[A]

Well, the first lesson I learned well, probably I've learned that lesson several times. You can never tell people what to do, right? That's always a failed strategy. And you can't actually get anywhere by cutting. There is no such thing as cutting your way to greatness. You can only grow into that. And the third thing is that if you focus on making everybody around you successful, you're successful.

[B]

Great pieces of advice. If you're not telling folks what do you do? How are you leading and inspiring change? What's the secret there?

[A]

Well, you know, change management is number one, the job. I was fortunate enough once to meet John Kotter, and he's even smarter than it seems from the books, everything he's written has stood the test. Of time and building the coalitions and getting the message out and dealing with the fact that everybody hates change. I mean, that's probably job number one, right? All of healthcare, matter of fact, all of life, is about changing. Constantly changing, constantly growing. People don't like to change. And so you've got to set up and have the patience for the right process to generate the change that will lead you into a better operating mode and most importantly, better patient outcome outcomes. Shortcutting it, like I said, trying to tell people what to do doesn't work. Trying to pretend you don't have to go through all those eight steps, that's a mistake that too many eager CEOs and other leaders make, I think.

[B]

So is that where you're at right now with Westchester Medical Health center of looking at how am I laying the groundwork for some of this change and future initiatives you're hoping to roll out?

[A]

I am. I've spent the first couple months there doing an extended listening tour across our 10 different facilities. We have 1800 beds spread out across the Hudson Valley and are the largest provider of Medicaid services north of New York City for the entire state of New York. So it's a pretty big responsibility. There are many, many people who count on us. And also the biggest behavioral health provider in the Hudson Valley. And as we all know, that's. It's huge these days. And so as an opportunity to really bring home. That's kind of a pun. The importance of all of that for the communities that we serve.

[B]

Yeah, absolutely. I know. Especially right now, there's so much uncertainty around Medicaid and potential Medicaid cuts. How, I guess, are you handling the amount of uncertainty that we're seeing right now with healthcare CEOs across the country?

[A]

Wow. You know, I think everybody is worried because especially the public hospitals. Westchester Medical Center Health is a. The public benefit corporation of the state of New York. And it has a public mission. It doesn't get a ton of funding like most public health systems. And we get our funding the old fashioned way, which is we take care of a lot of people who have a lot of needs, and that's not gonna change. So no matter how much they cut Medicaid, they're not gonna cut the need for healthcare. And where are those people who have lost their insurance going to end up? They're gonna end up in the emergency departments of places like mine where the people are absolutely committed to the social mission where they're gonna take care of you no matter what, only you're not Gonna get the follow up that you need in your home community because you won't have any insurance. And so it'll be hard to get into the private doctor's office. So what will happen is public hospitals will become primary care again for many underserved communities. And they won't get paid either, cause the patients won't have insurance. So all you're gonna do is beggar the public hospital system.

[B]

It's going to be very fascinating to see how this all plays out. I'm curious, as you're looking into the next 12 months, what else is top of mind for you? What are some key priorities or challenges you're going to be working to address?

[A]

Right. Well, so again, the organization that I joined gets some of the largest number of transfers in to a single hospital. Our main flagship, Westchester Medical center in Valhalla, gets over 12,000 inpatient transfers a year. We're the level one trauma center, the children's hospital, the burn center, the transplant center. If you need care north of New York City, we're the only place to go. And my goal is to make it so that even if you could drive into New York City, you would choose not to. Because the services will compete with and hopefully exceed the quality that you might find at some of my New York City competitors. And I think that's always a good competition to have, which is who can provide the best care closest to your home as a patient in the manner that you want to receive it. That's. That's a winning recipe.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's a great goal to have. As you've been embarking on your listening tours, have there been any other valuable insights that you've kind of taken to heart?

[A]

There are, I think that what I've heard at all of our far. We have a far flung facility, some are two and a half hours away. Critical Access Hospital in Margaretville, up in Delaware county, which is probably. Don't know where it is, but it's kind of north and west of the Hudson river and another one in Poughkeepsie and another one in Kingston. And these facilities are basically the lifeline for that local community. And that's what I heard was not only of their commitment to serve patients, but also to do a better job figuring out what does the community need from that facility in their hometown. And to that end, I've made it a real point to try and meet all of the local legislators, the mayors, the county supervisors, the head of the fire departments who all operate ems, et cetera. What do they need what do they want from us? Not what do we want from them. I could tell them I got a long list. But you know, how do we do a better job? Right. As a part of the fabric of the entire public health system there. And that's one thing. And then number two is that the employers really wanted to feel a little more as part of the network, not as a feeder source for the transfers that come into our hub facility. But what were we doing for them? How are we going to expand services in their communities? How is this going to be a truly a bilateral relationship? Right. That's grown up over time, but maybe we could pay more attention to that.

[B]

It really speaks to the importance of taking the time to listen to your teams, to your communities and really understand what role your health system is playing in it and how you can even play a bigger, more important role that's very meaningful for health outcomes and more.

[A]

Exactly, yeah. I mean, there's a lot of people who count only on us because, you know, we see anybody who needs to be seen and we need, we need to continue to do that no matter what the tenor of the discussion is in Washington D.C. we need to not forget our way forward, that we're here to help people and everybody is a people.

[B]

That's the mission. Every day, right?

[A]

Every day I could just hear the.

[B]

Passion and the excitement for what you do in your voice. So I guess my last question is, what is the most exciting to you about this new role or the next 12 months in the future of healthcare?

[A]

Right. Well, in my previous role at UC Davis as a CEO, I spent a lot of time building the foundational elements of information technology. Not me personally, but with my experts, and managed to implement just under 100 AI driven programs there before I left. And I plan to champion that here, but in the same principled way, which is you've got to have foundational investments in information technology. You've got to pick those companies as true partners who have an ethical approach and a very careful way of validating their work. And you need to pick those programs are going to be most transformative for your organization in terms of how patients do, but also how employees do. Because happy employees, efficient employees, valued employees lead to the best patient care. So you've got to consider all those angles and then full speed ahead. Because AI is just a tool and we get to decide how it's utilized and it doesn't have to be bad.

[B]

Absolutely. Well, Dr. Lubarsky, thank you so much for this conversation. It's been so insightful and exciting to hear about what's planned at your organization, and wishing you all the best in the new role. And thanks again for your time.

[A]

Thank you.