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ST. JOSEPH – As part of a three-part approach outlined by Spectrum Health Lakeland to dedicate financial resources, appoint new leadership, and commit to transparency in efforts to reduce racial inequities in health, Lakeland recently appointed Lynn Todman, PhD, as vice president, health equity. In this newly created role, Dr. Todman will ensure focused leadership of the board-designated capital fund of $50 million which was established to support health equity work in the communities Lakeland serves.

Todman also recently assumed a Spectrum Health system role leading the harmonization of community health work across the system, which she will continue. Todman joined Lakeland in 2015 as executive director of population health. In addition to leading the population health team, her key efforts have included the development of the Community Grand Rounds speaker series focusing on how racism affects health outcomes, and launching Brave Talks, small group discussions about racism and its impact on the health of our community.

Since 2017, Todman has served as a commissioner for the city of St. Joseph. She has also served on several boards and committees in southwest Michigan including the St. Joseph Downtown Development Planning Committee, Edgewater Bank Board, the Benton Harbor Promise, the Berrien County Mental Health Authority, and Cornerstone Alliance. In 2018, she was awarded a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leadership award recognizing her work in building a regional culture of health.

A graduate of Wellesley College, Todman earned both master’s and doctorate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in city planning and urban and regional planning. She has extensive experience in leadership and research in the areas of health equity, social determinants of health, health impact assessment, urban poverty, and community development.

“Over the last five years, Lynn has made significant strides to highlight the importance of racial equity and the need to narrow health disparities for the benefit of our entire community,” said Loren B. Hamel, MD, president, Spectrum Health Lakeland. “We look forward to having her as part of Lakeland’s senior leadership team as we continue this important work in our community.”

To learn about Spectrum Health Lakeland’s work related to racial and health equity visit spectrumhealthlakeland.org/populationhealth and follow “Community Grand Rounds” on Facebook.  These sources will be updated frequently as Lakeland’s work evolves.