After Humana announced a $15 million gift to Thomas Jefferson University to promote community health and equity in medical services, Dr. Billy Oglesby will now be known as the Humana Dean of TJU's College of Population Health (JCPH).

Established in 2008 as the nation's first college focused on population health, JCPH remains at the forefront of the work by developing new academic initiatives that advance healthcare quality and patient safety while improving operational effectiveness, efficiency, and promote public and population health.

Mark L. Tykocinski, MD, president of Thomas Jefferson University, stated:

Under Dr. Oglesby’s capable leadership, Jefferson will leverage these new resources to drive meaningful change for Jefferson students and residents in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Oglesby’s Career

Oglesby, who joined Thomas Jefferson University in 2016, served as interim dean of the College of Population Health beginning in 2019 and was named dean in 2022.

Working with a spectrum of healthcare stakeholders to drive meaningful and sustainable improvement, Oglesby has served for more than 20 years as a population health strategist, scientist, and leader focused on driving operational efficiencies and expanding access to prevention and care services.

“Dr. Oglesby has demonstrated a commitment to population health improvement over the course of his career, with a special emphasis on health equity and advocacy for underserved and marginalized populations,” said J. Nwando Olayiwola, MD, MPH, chief health equity officer and senior vice president at Humana.

Over Spring Break, Jefferson health science students visited the community of Villa Santa, Honduras with @GlobalBrigades. There they assisted with dental and medical consultations and hosted workshops.

Click to read about the success of their trip. https://t.co/Y8GuL6KFOA pic.twitter.com/DGttTlKQZY

— Thomas Jefferson University (@JeffersonUniv) April 3, 2023

Oglesby achievements

His accomplishments at JCPH include:

• Creating of a year-long patient safety and quality improvement leadership program for providers and service line managers at Jefferson Health, Rothman Orthopedic Institute, Wills Eye Hospital, and Nemours Children's Health, to increase the number of leaders of quality and safety in all health systems.
• Launching the Main Line Health Center for Population Health Research to improve outcomes and the care experience for patients served by the system.
• Leading the development of the 1889 Jefferson Center for Population Health, a community-based population health center in rural western Pennsylvania focused on closing healthcare gaps and addressing the social determinants of health.

An advocacy leader

Oglesby has been noted for his leadership role and his membership on a variety of professional committees and boards, including:

• Immediate Past President of the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research.
• Chair of the Healthy People 2030 Curriculum Taskforce, which continually updates the Clinical Prevention and Population Health Curriculum for health professions schools.
• Ex officio member of the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement at the National Academy of Medicine, where he recently helped plan a national workshop for thought leaders on "The Role of Business in Improving Health and Health Equity."
• Appointed public member on the Clinical Guidelines Committee at the American College of Physicians; Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (UK); Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives; and Board Leadership Fellow at the National Association for Corporate Directors.

“It is an honor to be named the Humana Dean of Jefferson’s College of Population Health. This strategic partnership with Humana should prove to be transformational for the college and the region. Humana is an ideal partner for this initiative as its interests align with ours. We will continue to push the work of population health forward to the where it needs to be in the future,” said Oglesby.