Here at Fenway Health, it’s always wonderful to see our dedicated staff get the recognition they deserve as leaders in LGBT health. We are excited to announce that Sally Deane, MPH, our Vice President, Government Relations will be honored by the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) with its 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award. This annual award recognizes BUSPH alumni who have made outstanding contributions in and show exemplary dedication to the field of public health locally, nationally, or globally. Sally will be presented with this honor at the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) annual meeting in Atlanta on November 6.
Over the course of her impressive career, Sally has led the transformation of several of the most widely recognized community health service, education, policy and advocacy organizations in Massachusetts and governance of others. She is perhaps best known for her strategy and leadership roles in the early days of Fenway Health and at Outer Cape Health Services, where she served as CEO, as well as for her longstanding role as a consultant/advisor to health, government and policy clients.
As Executive Director of Fenway Health from 1980 to 1984, Sally oversaw both medical and mental health clinic licensure, allowing Fenway to become the first CHC in Boston to gain licensure for both medical and mental health care. She led a strategic plan that anchored hope for overcoming the then emerging HIV crisis by forming a community based, LGBT-focused research program. During her tenure, the Board of Directors formed the AIDS Action Committee to prioritize Fenway’s response to the emerging crisis. The result of that research program, now known as The Fenway Institute (TFI), still serves as best practice model for a community health research program.
During her time as CEO to Outer Cape Health Services, Sally led the rural health center’s turnaround and era of doubling of patients served, quadrupling of patient revenues and scope of services and achieving top quality and cost scores on Medicare Pioneer ACO in the Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization.
She has sat on the boards and in leadership roles of several area non-profit educational, health and social service organizations, including Chair of the Board of Directors of Our Bodies, Ourselves Boston Women’s Health Book Collective and now its Finance Committee. She also served in the Commissioner’s office of the Boston Department of Health & Hospitals and Assistant Director for Ambulatory Reimbursement for what is now known as Mass Health, where she and her staff gained implementation of the first case mix rate methodology.
Sally has been an Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor in Health Law, Policy and Management at Boston University School of Public Health since 1993, where she earned the Excellence in Teaching award over a dozen times. She has served on the Advisory Board to the Health Law, Policy & Management Department since its formation in 2009. She holds a BA in Psychology and Education from Whittier College, a M.Ed. in Counselor Education from Boston University School of Education in 1971 and MPH in Health Services Administration from Boston University SPH in 1988.
Please join us in congratulating Sally for this well-deserved recognition!