Shivani Rajput, an operations expert who coordinated Northwell Health’s distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines across Long Island, has been named to Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Emerging Leaders list.
Ms. Rajput, assistant vice president of corporate affairs at Northwell, managed the Long Island Distribution Vaccination Hub which served a region of more than 2.3 million people. Northwell administered over 600,000 vaccines at 100 unique fixed and pop-up sites, which led to the region tallying the highest vaccination rate in New York State. The area’s at-risk population also registered the state’s highest vaccination rate, an important fact that highlight’s the health system’s longstanding commitment to equity of care.
“Shivani Rajput’s focus is always to ‘work the problem’ and she dedicated all of herself to that singular purpose,” said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health. “It is not hyperbole to say that her setting an aggressive goal of a 70 percent vaccination rate by July 1 ultimately helped Northwell and the region overcome COVID-19 and achieve the highest overall vaccination rate in the state.”
The Modern Healthcare Emerging Leader award highlights individuals 40 years old and younger who took action within their organization to meet or overcome on-going clinical, operational and financial challenges compounded by the pandemic.
“The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine was the biggest logistical challenge the health care industry faced in modern times,” saidGene Tangney, senior vice president and chief business continuity and crisis management officer. “Ms. Rajput’s dedication to the health and wellness of the community combined with her relentless pursuit of innovative solutions was the right mixture of leadership qualities at the right time.”
Ms. Rajput coordinated a multi-disciplinary team, which included members from operations, finance, pharmacy, patient access, clinical operations and information technology – all while collaborating with the New York State Department of Health, Nassau/Suffolk Hospital Council, other entities and health systems. Her predictive modelling helped drive Northwell’s recruitment plan, timeline and location setup. She also created tools to monitor more than 500 staff deployments daily and coordinated which locations needed to be open to meet second dose requirements.
Ms. Rajput earned a bachelor of science degree in community health from Hofstra University and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Cornell University.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine or to schedule an appointment, go to:https://www.northwell.edu/coronavirus-covid-19/vaccine
