Shivani Agarwal, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology, has been appointed senior director of health equity at Montefiore Medical Center. In this inaugural role, Dr. Agarwal will be broadly responsible for identifying and closing health equity gaps in the communities Montefiore Einstein serves.

“This position builds upon a storied foundation at Montefiore Einstein, whose cornerstone has always included social justice,” says Dr. Agarwal. “Improving health equity requires partnership among clinicians, staff, researchers, educators, health system leadership, governmental agencies, funders, and of course our patients and communities. By working together, we can break down silos and develop creative solutions for some of the most challenging problems that lead to inequity.”

Dr. Agarwal is an international expert in health equity. She has written national and international clinical guidelines on incorporating social determinants of health into care, and authored numerous editorials on the root causes of inequity in healthcare and potential solutions. She is a physician-scientist who has been awarded grants from the NIH to evaluate the effectiveness of care delivery redesign in reducing inequity.

She has led national and local projects aimed at bridging gaps in standards of care and outcomes by increasing access to advanced outpatient therapeutics for underserved communities. Examples of her work at Montefiore include the use of community health workers for co-management of complex social and medical needs in specialty care, and redesigning healthcare encounters to achieve equitable, whole-person care. Dr. Agarwal has also partnered with communities in the Bronx to better understand their needs, find new ways to incorporate their voices into solutions, and promote care that is inclusive, diverse, and anti-racist.

“When I came to this country at two years old, the first place I lived was in the Bronx—it welcomed me with open arms and showed me the power of different cultures and ideas coming together,” says Dr. Agarwal. “I am excited about engaging with the community and continuing to integrate patients into our decision-making and care processes.”

Improving health equity requires partnership among clinicians, staff, researchers, educators, health system leadership, governmental agencies, funders, and of course our patients and communities.

Dr. Shivani Agarwal, associate professor, division of endocrinology, and senior director of health equity, Montefiore Medical Center

“Shivani is an outstanding advocate for health equity, and this role will allow her to bring system-wide resources, quality improvement tools, and an analytical mind to the management of chronic diseases,” says Eric J. Epstein, MD, interim chair of the department of medicine. “Her work, combined with our infrastructure, will be a game changer for our physicians, care teams, patients, and communities.”

Dr. Agarwal received her BA in neuroscience with a minor in creative writing from Wellesley College, where she graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honors Society. She attended New York University School of Medicine and received a master’s from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, followed by residency training at Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Agarwal attended the University of Pennsylvania for her endocrinology fellowship before joining its faculty. There she built a pediatric-to-adult healthcare transition program in diabetes, and specialized in disparities investigation and health services research. In 2018, she came to Montefiore Einstein, where she is associate director of the Fleischer Institute for Diabetes and Metabolism, director of type 1 diabetes programs, and director of the Supporting Emerging Adults with Diabetes (SEAD) program. She also serves as principal investigator on several NIH and foundation-funded projects that test innovative clinical models for improving health equity for people with diabetes.

“I am indebted to the department of medicine and division of endocrinology for nurturing my career, supporting new ideas, and being committed to health equity,” says Dr. Agarwal.

“I speak for everyone in the department of medicine in congratulating Shivani on this important new role,” says Dr. Epstein. “We wish her every success in advancing our institution’s efforts to reduce disparities.”