Binghamton’s Mario Ortiz tapped to help improve healthcare access for New Yorkers
Decker College dean earns second term on NYS public health council, will also chair health equity advisory group
In May, Gov. Kathy Hochul reappointed Mario R. Ortiz, dean and professor at Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, to the New York State Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC), the advisory and decision-making council for New York’s public health and healthcare delivery system.
This is Ortiz’s second term on the PHHPC, which consists of New York State Commissioner of Health James V. McDonald and more than two dozen members from across the state who represent various aspects of healthcare. Each member of the PHHPC is nominated by the governor and confirmed by the New York State Senate.
In addition, the governor appointed Ortiz to the New York State Health Equity Council, which works to deliver equal health and healthcare for all New Yorkers by raising awareness about the health of underserved populations, improving community engagement in public health advocacy and research, and increasing the number of underrepresented individuals who work in public health. Ortiz will chair the council, which comprises more than a dozen healthcare professionals throughout New York. Like the PHHPC, council members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate.
“I am honored to be reappointed to the Public Health and Health Planning Council by Gov. Kathy Hochul and the continued opportunity to contribute to improving healthcare for all New York state residents,” Ortiz said. “Further, I am eager to join the Health Equity Council and work with my fellow council members to effect positive change in the access to and delivery of healthcare for all New Yorkers, especially those from racial, ethnic and other underserved populations.”
Ortiz is a board-certified community health nurse specialist and family nurse practitioner who joined Binghamton University in July 2016. He has a strong record of success in developing healthcare programs and nurse-led, patient-centered medical homes and primary-care clinics. In addition, he has established and nurtured critical partnerships with healthcare providers and policy-makers.
Ortiz is a respected scholar in national and international arenas, where he focuses on nursing research and practice. He is the contributing editor of the “Health Policy” and “Leadership” columns in Nursing Science Quarterly. He serves on the referee panels for the Journal of Holistic Nursing, the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care and the Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care. Ortiz is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, a Fellow in the Nursing Academy of the National Academies of Practice and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
At Binghamton University, Ortiz serves as executive director of Decker College’s Kresge Center for Nursing Research and the Community Health Centers of Practice. In July 2023, he was named the Dr. G. Clifford and Florence B. Decker Chair in Community Health Nursing.
His term on the Health Equity Council expires Mar. 16, 2028, while his reappointment to the PHHPC runs through Jan. 1, 2029.