Medtronic chairman and CEO Geoff Martha discusses technological innovations with Virtua’s Dennis Pullin

To kick off the 2022 season of his “Here for Good” podcast, Virtua Health President and CEO Dennis W. Pullin, FACHE, spoke with Geoff Martha, chairman and CEO of Medtronic. Late last year, Virtua entered into a multi-year partnership and collaboration with Medtronic, the leading global healthcare technology company. The goal is to significantly enhance the delivery of care for residents of South Jersey — particularly those who reside in underserved communities or face systemic barriers to health services.

In an engaging conversation, Pullin and Martha discuss how technology is essential to improving community health and reducing disparities in care. The leaders also preview how their organizations’ collaboration will result in health-care delivery models that, in time, can be replicated in other parts of the county.

“This partnership is all about accelerating health equity and creating better outcomes for individuals and families in our community,” Pullin said. “I think podcast listeners will be fascinated to learn about Medtronic’s global reach in helping people achieve their best-possible quality of life.”

“I couldn’t be more proud and excited to partner with Virtua,” Martha said during the interview. “I’m optimistic about what we can do. The challenges are tough, but I think we can make a difference.”

The podcast conversation also provides leadership insights from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, as a newly appointed CEO in 2020, Martha made the unprecedented move to open-source the company’s intellectual property, making proprietary ventilator designs available to manufacturers around the world. This helped address the growing global demand for ventilators, resulted in new partnerships, and broke down barriers across industries to enhance care.

Virtua and Medtronic share similar missions: Virtua strives to help its communities “be well, get well, and stay well,” while Medtronic’s mission is “to alleviate pain, restore health, and extend life.”

The audio version of the podcast is available on all popular podcast platforms. To view the video version, visit the Virtua Health YouTube channel or visit virtua.org/podcast.