Gregory Hall, M.D., attending the 2019 annual meeting of Eliza Bryant Village. || The Real Deal Press
In a city of outstanding physicians, Dr. Gregory Hall stands out as one of the best. One of the community’s last physicians in private practice, Hall joined University Hospitals on December 1 as the first medical director of its Cutler Center for Men, which helps men navigate the health system to access resources and experts for their physical and emotional health.
Hall, an internal medicine physician practicing at UH Richmond Medical Center, brings to the center a 30-year history of public health advocacy, particularly focused on black Americans.
In the new role, Hall will help coordinate, develop and implement protocols to ensure delivery of specialized, quality care through the medical team at Cutler Center, which aims to change men's mindsets and improve their health outcomes.
"We can do better at coordinating care across our primary care physicians and specialists provide more preventative screenings and offer chronic disease management," said Dr. Lee Ponsky, executive director of the UH Cutler Center for Men, in a provided statement. "Greg's leadership in the community and his clinical background will help to shape the UH network of providers as well as our partnerships and outreach."
Hall will champion men's clinical care and will help build a provider network at the center to ensure a team-based approach across primary care physicians and experts in cardiovascular, sleep, integrative health, digestive health and other specialty areas across the system, according to the release.
He also will represent UH within the community and to external partners and manage community events, bringing together men to share perspectives to better understand the unique obstacles they face, according to the release, which noted he'll support research projects to evaluate and maintain guidelines for men's health. For instance, he will join the Cleveland African American Prostate Cancer Project team directed by Erika Trapl, at Case Western Reserve University, to develop and implement a comprehensive, sustainable, community-based program to increase the number of African Americans screened for prostate cancer, according to the release.
"This position will allow me to funnel my past experience into a focused effort toward men in the region. Breaking down barriers to health disparities and those in underserved populations is a personal and professional passion of mine. This is about motivating men to prioritize their health, and we can reach them wherever they are, any stage, any age."
Hall, a Cleveland native who has practiced in the area since 1994, is an associate professor in both the Internal Medicine and Integrative Medical Sciences departments at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, according to the release. A Cleveland Clinic-trained internal medicine specialist, he was a governor-appointed member of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health, serving as chairman for many years, and currently serves as the board president of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
Hall is the author of Patient-Centered Clinical Care for African Americans, written as a guide to increase cultural competence among medical practitioners who serve an African American population.
In addition to maintaining his practice, and directing the Cutler Center, Hall will continue to serve as medical director for Eliza Bryant Center, a skilled nursing facility established in 1897, the first nonreligious institution founded by black people in Cleveland.
He will also continue as CEO and medical director of VitaCode LLC, which developed and sells multivitamins designed specifically for African Americans.
Hall recently established the National Institute for African American Health, which will mentor the next generation of minority physicians and advocate for better health outcomes for African Americans.
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