Frontline Hero: Dr. Ronald Musto, Community Care Physicians, P.C.
The People’s Choice Awards.
Nominated by their patients and peers, these individuals are being recognized for showing compassion, care, and concern in the midst of a global pandemic.
Dr. Ronald Musto
When Dr. Ronald Musto got the call that he had been chosen for the CDPHP Top Doctors: Frontline Heroes award, he was relieved it wasn’t more bad news.
“These days, the news is rarely good. I was surprised I had been nominated, and relieved there wasn’t a serious problem to deal with!”
Dr. Musto is an internist at Capital Healthcare Associates, and executive vice president and medical director for Community Care Physicians (CCP). He was chosen by CEO Dr. Shirish Parikh to lead the company’s COVID -19 Response Team to provide the company’s practices with the right tools to keep patients and staff safe. Dr. Musto refuses to take credit for what he calls a “massive team effort,” but is very proud of the talented team he assembled.
“I surrounded myself with bright, dedicated, and creative people who worked hard to understand the disease, interpret the guidance, and translate all of that into policies and procedures to protect our staff, patients, and community.”
There’s obviously a lot of stress and anxiety out there, but I’ve been so impressed by the resiliency of our community.”
Dr. Ronald Musto Community Care Physicians, P.C.
That includes the practice’s IT and operations team, which, seemingly overnight, implemented a telemedicine solution that allowed patients to continue seeing their doctors in a virtual environment. At the height of the pandemic, Musto says 40 percent of their visits were conducted via telemedicine. CCP was also the only private practice to establish COVID-19 molecular testing for its patients at a time when there were no other options available. To date, they’ve performed over 17,000 diagnostic tests.
Dr. Ronald Musto
Congratulations to our Frontline Heroes award winners!
Musto is not only proud of the way his team responded to the crisis, but how his patients have responded as well.
“There’s obviously a lot of stress and anxiety out there, but I’ve been so impressed by the resiliency of our community. Many of my patients have taken up quilting, baking, gardening, which means they’re finding healthy ways to preserve their mental well-being. That’s very reassuring.”
John D. Bennett, MD, FACC, FACP, is president and CEO of Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, Inc. (CDPHP), an award-winning, physician aligned, not-for-profit health plan based in Albany, NY. Bennett has held the position since 2008 after serving more than 10 years as chair, vice chair, and board member for CDPHP.
During his tenure, CDPHP has been ranked among the top-performing health plans in New York and the nation, most recently named #1 in Customer Satisfaction in the 2023 J.D. Power Member Health Plan Study. Under his leadership, CDPHP has also become known as a model employer regionally and nationally and was recently named among the top five Best Companies to Work for in New York by the Society for Human Resource Management, as well as Forbes Best-in-State Employers 2022.
Prior to joining CDPHP, Bennett served as founding member and CEO of Prime Care Physicians, PLLC. During his tenure, he co-led a team of 25 cardiologists and helped grow the practice to a 100-physician multi-specialty group.
Bennett is board certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Internal Medicine, with subspecialties in internal medicine and cardiology. He earned his medical degree at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, and a Bachelor of Science degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Bennett completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Albany Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physicians.
Bennett is currently board chair for the Center for Economic Growth and the Capital Region Chamber, and vice chair for the Palace Theatre. Bennett also serves on the boards of the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP), America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Russell Sage Colleges. Bennett is a member of the New York Public Health and Health Planning Council where he helps shape decisions related to New York State's public health and health care delivery system.
Well-known locally and nationally for advancing health care innovation, Bennett was recently named to Crain’s New York Business 2021 Notable in Health Care, as well as the Albany Business Review’s Power 50 list.
The Daily Dose
John D. Bennett, MD, FACC, FACP
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