Susan Browning
As president of Vassar Brothers Medical Center and western regional president of Nuvance Health, Susan Browning sees the roles women play in their work lives and families and wants to empower them when it comes to their own health.
To help meet that goal, she’s chairing the 2024 Go Red for Women campaign, which includes the popular Go Red for Women Luncheon, set for Thursday, Nov. 14, at The Grandview, 176 Rinaldi Blvd., Poughkeepsie.
“Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, yet most women don’t realize that,” Browning said. “The Go Red for Women Luncheon is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about heart disease in women and help provide access to education in our community. Women make most of the healthcare decisions in the family, and by encouraging them to get screened and take care of their own health, we can have a broad impact on health in the Hudson Valley.”
Before coming to Nuvance Health and the Hudson Valley, Browning was the senior vice president for ambulatory strategy and business development for Northwell Health, where she had worked for 25 years. Her move preceded the announcement of a proposed Northwell Health/Nuvance Health affiliation.
A native of Queens, New York, Browning had initially planned to become an OB/GYN. As an undergraduate student at Barnard College, she worked at Mt. Sinai Hospital and got to know many of the hospital’s administrators. By the end of her second year of college, she became focused on the field of hospital administration.
Browning also received an MPH from the Columbia University Mailman School of Health.
She and her husband of 31 years raised their two children on Long Island but have long been fond of the Hudson Valley.
“We have deep connections to the Hudson Valley,” Browning said. “It’s a place we’ve been going camping and spending weekends for 40 years.”
Browning and her family are in the process of moving to LaGrange.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Go Red for Women movement and the Centennial of the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all ,dovetails nicely with the work Nuvance Health is doing, in Browning’s eyes.
“It’s been 24 years since we did our first open-heart surgery at Vassar Brothers Medical Center,” Browning said, “and we just celebrated the opening of our state-of-the-art cardiac cath suite. Like the American Heart Association, we are and have been a leader with heart care. Vassar Brothers and Nuvance Health are focused on the community, and it’s important to us that we represent and connect members of the community. I’m proud to be leading the Go Red for Women campaign. It’s a great opportunity to bring people together for a good cause.”
Browning has put together an Executive Leadership Team that will help the Hudson Valley Go Red for Women Luncheon meet its goals and provide women – and men – of the Hudson Valley the opportunity to come together to learn more about heart disease in women and ways to improve the health of the community.
The Executive Leadership Team members are:
- Samantha Cerbone, The Pines at Poughkeepsie
- Janelle Gros-Menendez, Michelle Barone Media
- Sunny Intwala, MD, Nuvance Health
- Susan Pagones, Antalek & Moore
- Melissa Rodriguez, Ellenville Regional Hospital
- Brenda Swatek, IBM Infrastructure Development and Delivery
- Medina Vernon, MD, Vassar Brothers Medical Center
The Go Red for Women Luncheon will include a survivor speaker, a silent auction, networking and a keynote speaker. For information, visit www.heart.org/hvgored.