PCDC CEO Louise Cohen set the scenario: primary care for everyone, no co-pays, no deductibles, and higher pay (and debt-free education) for providers.

“It’s not cutting costs that’ll get us there — it’s reallocation,” Cohen told guests at the PCDC Gala Reception. “That’s the path to a truly high-value health care system.”

The forward-looking theme set the tone for this year’s event, which drew more than 300 health leaders, providers, and advocates to the Tribeca Rooftop.

Foregoing a sit-down dinner for a party-style atmosphere, PCDC recognized honorees who have advanced primary care access: Dr. Kemi Alli, CEO of Henry J. Austin Health Center; C. Dean Germano, CEO of Shasta Community Health Center; Daniel T. McGowan, PCDC Board Chair from 2004 to 2019; and Ruth Salzman, PCDC Board member from 1997 to 2019, who most recently served as Treasurer.

Also on hand were presenters David Gould, PCDC Board Chair, and Hildy Simmons, a PCDC co-founder. Other guests with close PCDC ties included Board Secretary Don Ashkenase, Founding CEO Ronda Kotelchuck, and Rick Zall, chair of Proskauer’s Health Care Group.

In her closing remarks, Cohen emphasized PCDC’s ongoing role in establishing change.

“We’re hard at work doing what we’ve always done,” she said. “That means expanding financing to primary care centers; supporting accessible, affordable, high-quality, culturally competent, coordinated, collaborative primary care; providing relevant and timely technical assistance to support primary care; and advocating for policies and regulations that enable primary care.”

PCDC Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Daniel T. McGowan [center] with Louise Cohen and PCDC Board Chair David Gould. “The main thing is to keep the main thing as the main thing–and access to equitable health care is the main thing,” McGowan said.

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