Get to Know Your Hospital Board Members - Dr. Diana Dr. Mason

MARGARETVILLE — Dr. Diana Mason joined the Margaretville Hospital Board in 2020 after previously serving on the Wellness Committee since 2016. Dr. Mason said that much of her focus is on “building a healthier community, including through primary care.”

Dr. Mason is a Registered Nurse with a doctorate in Nursing and is a Professor Emeritus at Hunter College and has an appointment at George Washington University's Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement. Her history working in health care and a focus on health policy and “looking at healthier communities” brought her to the table to help “health systems understand we have to build a primary care system” as robust as the “acute care system.”

“We would not need as much acute care if we would invest in promoting the health of individuals, families, and communities,” she said.

Dr. Mason hopes to build the primary care capacity of the hospital, as well as the wider holistic health of the community.

She is also the Secretary of the Board of the Primary Care Development Corporation. In 2015 the organization was tasked by the state to conduct a survey of primary care county-by-county and Delaware County was found to be largely a primary care desert.

Dr. Mason led an effort by a community group to bring a federally-qualified health center to the area by working with Open Door from Westchester to rent the Palen Building at Margaretville Hospital Campus for the health center that was to open next year. Such federally-qualified health centers are required to provide primary care to those who need it, regardless of income. However, with the changes in federal funding, there is currently a hold on the project. Instead, she and the community group are working with the hospital and board to help it build its primary care practice.

Dr. Mason credits Executive Director Michael Hochman and Board Chair Emilie Adams, who is “advocating the board’s voice” and aiding in community-oriented programs.

While the board does not have direct fiduciary responsibility, it is responsible for “quality of care being provided at the hospital.”

The board takes that “very seriously,” said Dr. Mason. She was the chair of the Board Quality Committee and still serves on it.

She added that WMC Health Executive Director Elissa Chessari is “listening to our voice.” She also credited President and Chief Executive Officer of the Westchester Medical Center David Lubarsky and his effort to build out WMC Health’s primary care capacity, both in the network and in Margaretville.

“These are really challenging times,” she said, asking “how do we all come together to support the hospital and the nursing home?”

Dr. Mason said that Margaretville Hospital is staffed by people “from the community, who care about the community.”

“When you go to the hospital, you have people who really care about you,” she said. “That’s really important.”

Such a personal touch and the hospital's emergency response are vital, she added.

Building primary care capacity is essential for health systems to be able to respond to the forthcoming federal cuts in Medicaid, in particular. Building a quality staff is also crucial. In the current climate of a nursing and primary care shortage, the hospital is addressing “workforce development,” with Dr. Mason personally serving as a mentor to assist local employees, including with her international and academic connections. There are programs that assist individuals become a family health practitioner, even without tuition.

Part of the effort is attracting employees, she said, but also retaining them through a “positive work environment.”

She cited national studies that found that if employees are not cared for, their quality of care changes.

In particular, Dr. Mason credits Hochman for supporting and listening to employees.

“Communities die when hospitals close,” she said. It’s up to each person to help keep the hospital alive and thriving and “how to support this really important institution in the community, including the nursing home.”

Dr. Mason has also produced and hosted health radio programs for over 40 years in NYC and now here with HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on Wednesdays at 2:00.