#GladtoBeHere: Spotlight on Angela Perri, Our New Chief of Health Plans

Earlier this month, Angela Perri joined VNS Health as Executive Vice President and Chief of Health Plans. Angela comes to VNS Health after nearly a decade at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pennsylvania, where she held senior leadership roles and also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Frontline spoke with Angela recently about what brought her to VNS Health, her vision for our health plans and why a custom-made stove for her grandmother helped shape the way she thinks about health care.

You’ve just joined VNS Health. What are your first impressions?

I’m excited to be here. I love the legacy of VNS Health, and I think we have an extraordinary opportunity in front of us. Right now, I’m spending a lot of time getting to know people and doing deep dives with the team. One thing I’ve seen is that people are working really hard, but they’re often in a reactive mode because the organization has been under such pressure. I want us to move toward a culture of empowerment, where people have time to lean in, think and respond. At the same time, we’re going to focus on a structure centered around excellence—skill building, team building, career planning and growth—that allows people to expand their scope within the space they’re working in first, and also within a framework of best practice health plan design.

What brought you to VNS Health?

I actually wasn’t looking to leave UPMC. I was very comfortable there and I loved what I was doing. What intrigued me about VNS Health was the provider side of the organization complemented by a health plan. I believe the future of care is in the home. Health plans around the country are trying to figure out that space, and here at VNS Health it’s been at the core of what we do for 130 years. That’s extraordinary. The opportunity to come here and lead a health plan that builds on that legacy was enough to get me to make the move.

You’ve described your vision for our health plans as being “member-centered and provider-aligned.” What does that mean?

You’re going to hear me use those words again and again, because they matter. Particularly as we collaborate to become One VNS Health. Being member-centered means our health plan members are at the heart of the decisions we make. And being provider-aligned means that to serve our members well, we also need to understand and support the providers who care for them. We need to understand physician workflows, and what providers actually experience when they work with us. We’re a highly regulated organization and there are things we must require of our providers, including documentation. But we have to explain why those things matter, and do everything we can to simplify how we work together.

You also talk about something you call “grandma-centered care.” Where did that idea come from?

My grandma was my person before I got married. There’s hardly a picture of the two of us from when I was a child where she isn’t hugging me or holding me. Her health journey informed a lot of the choices I eventually made in health care. She had a heart attack and underwent open-heart surgery, and during the surgery she had a stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side. It completely changed our family dynamic. She was on 21 medications, and in those first nine months after her stroke she was in and out of the hospital constantly.

One day, we were sitting at the kitchen table watching my grandfather cook. She suddenly picked up a spoon with her good arm and threw it at him because he was putting too much salt in the sauce! Then she started crying. She said, “I’m no good. I can’t cook anymore. I can’t do anything.” Cooking mattered to her. It was part of who she was. So my family and I had a stove custom-made that she could wheel up to and use. After that, she went back to the hospital just once over the next 9 years for needed procedures. That stove changed her health trajectory because it gave her back a feeling of purpose, presence and value. That in turn gave her back her power, which translated into questioning her fragmented care, the use of 21 medications, and how decisions for her care were being made. It also taught me a valuable lesson about listening first and not assuming I or we know better than those we “serve.”

So “grandma-centered care” came from me challenging my teams over the years to ask, “Will the people we’re caring for find this process, form, tool, or service valuable to them?” If not, then we need to go back to the drawing board.

Another thing you’ve spoken about is bringing an “infusion of joy” to our work. What do you mean by that?

There are a lot of things in health care we can’t control. We work within a government-regulated environment, and that comes with requirements and pressures. But one thing we can control is the attitude we bring. We can show up and be glad to be here. I even have a hashtag—“glad to be here.” It’s a privilege to be in a position to support some of our most vulnerable neighbors. That’s not just my leadership philosophy—it’s who I am as a person and what I believe is key at my core. That doesn’t mean every day is easy. But I want people to connect emotionally with why we do this work, to get into that heart space and feel empowered to make a difference and to question whether or not something is aligned to a best practice. Joy comes from a culture that puts love at the center of all we do, including challenging the status quo.

What would you like your colleagues across VNS Health to know about you?

First, that I’m honored to be here. I think the legacy of this organization is extraordinary.

I also believe that in-home care isn’t just the future of care—it’s essential care. Our frontline team members go out every day and meet people where they are. Sometimes they’re going into difficult places or challenging circumstances, and they’re going there to serve. I have tremendous respect for that, as well as an expectation that our health plan will be that partner that helps simplify what we do so we may all serve better together.

How are you enjoying New York City so far?

I’m still getting settled! I have an apartment close to the office, but right now I basically have a bed and lots of boxes. I don’t know the city very well yet, so I’m going to rent for a while and figure out my team, my job, and this great city. But I’m looking forward to being a New Yorker. I think it’s going to be fun.

Finally, what do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

I love spending time with my family—my wife and our three dogs. We have Bennie and Ollie, two Maltese boys, and Harley Mae, our Shih Tzu girl. We call her Mae-Mae. She’s the youngest and the biggest, and she’s definitely in charge of the house! I also love golf. My grandfather taught me to play when I was six years old, back in the 1970s when there weren’t nearly as many women playing. He had a set of men’s golf clubs cut down for me and took me to the golf course, daring any of his fellow players to comment. I enjoy sports and the outdoors, and I’m a huge college football fan. I love beauty in all its forms—athletics, architecture, painting, literature… and by that I mean actual, physical books. There are enough screens in the world already! Overall, I look forward to engaging with the VNS Health family and with this remarkable city and state.